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Total quality management has been a focus of concern in recent years since some dissatisfaction with the results from implementation of quality assurance programs in the U.S. Many managerial methodologies and innovation guidelines from academic disciplines have been applied to promote TQM programs in the health field. This paper consists of two folds of aspects: firstly to examine TQM's managerial philosophy by comparing with the newly introduced managerial concepts in Business Reengineering; and then to introduce a method for an integrative way of process analysis, Entity Life-Cycle Diagram (ELCD) modeling. The analysis method was compared with Process Map, which is a well-known method for BR applications. To show effectiveness of ELCD modeling, a case of application was introduced using 'drug' as a target entity. With having TQM issues in mind, the result was reflected in designing Entity Relation Diagrams. The results of ELCD modeling turn out to be helpful in designing database related to quality monitoring, in that many monitoring check points can be identified in a systematic way and that queries cross-sectional over organizational boundaries can be generated with a consistent view focusing on the drug use as a single process. Full evaluation of the analysis method remains to be studied until the completion of the information system under construction. But as long as TQM is based on a process-oriented view and needs supports from information system, ELCD can be one of the appropriate choice as a tool for the process analysis. |
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