Quality trends in health care / Nancy Graham -- Double take on the history of quality in health care / John F. Racine -- Quality of care: how can it be assessed? / Avedis Donabedian -- Variations in medical practice and hospital costs / John E. Wennberg -- Continuous improvement as an ideal in health care / Donald M. Berwick -- Total quality management / George W. Whetsell -- Tutorial: quality improvement project models / Paul E. Plsek -- Bringing theory into practice- applying improvement thinking / C.J. Bolster, Elizabeth Falter, Laura Hooper -- Introduction to critical paths / Richard J. Coffey [and others] -- Implementing practice guidelines through clinical quality improvement / Brent C. James -- Outcomes movement: will it get us where we want to go? / Arnold A. Epstein -- Role of outcomes in quality assessment and assurance / Avedis Donabedian -- Benchmarking / Craig Anderson, Peggy A. Rivenburgh. Quality assurance and quality improvement in the information age /Kathryn L. Coltin, David B. Aronow -- Integrating strategic planning and quality management in a multi-institutional system / Steve Durbin, Claudia Haglund, William Dowling -- Building learning organizations / Peter Senge -- Quality improvement: a patient's perspective / Charles E. Silberman -- Changing physicians' practices / Peter J. Greco, John M. Eisenberg -- Overcoming the barriers to implementation of TQM/CQI in hospitals: myhts and realities / Douglas S. Wakefield, Bonnie J. Wakefield -- Reshaping of healthcare / Jeff C. Goldsmith -- Five futures / Clement Bezold.