The continuous improvement of services provided to clients is one of the major aspects of modern organizations’ functioning. Under these conditions, total quality management (TQM) becomes a potent tool that helps managers in different industries satisfy customers by creating a customer-centered value and culture and monitoring the quality of provided services and products. The application of TQM techniques ensures the organization’s ability to evolve and meet new diversified demands. Under these conditions, this tool is fundamental for the healthcare sector as it will promote better outcomes.
TQM is closely connected to the concept of dimensions of quality. These are vital aspects of the company’s work that should be given priority to attain better outcomes. These aspects differ regarding the sphere; however, for service industries, including the healthcare sector, Talib and Rahman outline the time, cost, error, and psychological dimensions. At the same time, IOM expands the list of these dimensions and states that these should include safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity. In such a way, these elements become the critical determinants of any health unit’s functioning.
For the discussed healthcare sector, the dimensions of quality play a critical role. First of all, the provision of care is organized to ensure that it is safe, effective, and focused on meeting the current needs of a client. At the same time, the needed treatment should be provided in time to avoid the further deterioration of the situation and attain the desired improvement in the state of a patient; otherwise, some changes should be applied to reconsider the ineffective approaches and introduce new ones. Furthermore, the equity and ability to ensure that clients are satisfied with the provided services and have a stable psychological condition is another dimension of quality vital for the work of healthcare. In such a way, TQM remains a critical tool for the work of health units as it ensures the provision of high-quality services to patients.