Development of a continuous quality improvement/total quality management program for medication use monitoring.

The design of institutional medication use programs that are effective and meet regulatory and accreditation standards is becoming increasingly dependent upon a thorough understanding of the principles and applications of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and total quality management (TQM). Both the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the federal government have recently begun to make significant attempts to transform our existing quality assurance programs into indicator-based quality improvement management systems that are based on the principles of CQI and TQM. The article outlines and illustrates an effective approach for developing and implementing a comprehensive CQI/TQM program for medication use monitoring.