FINDINGS OF INNOVATION RESEARCH APPLIED TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES FOR HEALTH-CARE

We asked health care professionals to identify and prioritize barriers to implementing TQM in their organizations. Lack of evidence of TQM s uccess was a commonly listed barrier. In response, we drew from resear ch in the innovation literature that identifies factors that distingui sh successful from failed efforts to innovate and improve. Applied to TQM principles, innovation findings overwhelmingly support customer an d quality mindedness. To a lesser degree other principles are upheld, suggesting future research in the area.