Why Does the Quality of Health Care Continue to Lag? Insights from Management Research

The United States health care system is plagued with quality problems. We draw on management research to explain why it has been so difficult to improve quality of care, despite a burgeoning body of scientific evidence on practices that result in better outcomes and the widespread adoption of quality-improving innovations based on those practices. Our analysis points to the prevalence of innovation implementation failure-organizational members' inconsistent or improper use of innovations-as a primary cause. In our review, we identify the organizational sources of this failure and offer six strategies for avoiding innovation implementation failure in health care.