Continuous quality improvement and hospital epidemiology: common themes.

: Recently, many have begun to explore the possibility of using analytical methods associated with continuous quality improvement in the efforts to improve health care. Central to this paradigm is the proposition that such analytical methods can be used to identify and react to variations in the processes and outcomes of care. These methods and principles are remarkably similar to those employed by hospital epidemiologists. This article explores the similarities between these fields in an attempt to bring together leading thinkers in both disciplines.