Analysis of Process Action Teams in the Dewitt Health Care System

摘要

As part the vision to become the health care system of choice for Department ofDefense (DOD) beneficiaries in Northern Virginia, As part of the vision to become the health care system of choice for Department of Defense (DOD) beneficiaries in Northern Virginia, DeWitt Health Care System (DHCS) has adopted a total quality management (TQM) philosophy. A key component of DHCS's TQM program is the use of process action teams (PATs). This study conducted a survey of former PAT members, analyzed the data, and discusses the results in terms of their effect on PAT success. With PAT success as the dependent variable and nineteen variables identified by the literature as contributing to PAT success as independent variables, regression analysis revealed that eight PAT success items accounted for 57.4% of the variance. This difference in R2 was tested with an F test (F (6,68)=11.45, p=.0000). The results indicate that PAT success varies as a function of eight specific measures of PAT success. The eight significant variables were: if a team member was serving in an administrative position, the selection of an appropriate project by the team, a commitment from upper management, open dialogue among team members, diagnostic support for the team, physician involvement, regular meetings, and the success of the team leader. The findings indicate that if these variables are present, the PAT is more likely to be successful. Results of this study may be generalized to other military hospitals for facilitating the success of PATs.