Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the historical development of quality assessment methods in manufacturing industry and healthcare. It examines the gap between methods across the two sectors, as well as the extent to which industrial techniques have been successfully adopted in...

Purpose – During the last decades, different quality management concepts, including total quality management (TQM), six sigma and lean, have been applied by many different organisations. Although much important work has been documented regarding TQM, six sigma and lean, a number of questions...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how patients experience their health problems and how they can generate innovative ideas about health care services. The research questions that guide the present study are: how can solicited diaries be used for capturing...

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present a proactive quality costs measurement methodology, which describes the value of quality improvements and the implication of this value on customers' perception regarding the value of the product. Design/methodology/approach – By describing the...