Standard, routine and non-routine processes in health care

Quality management methods have been introduced into health care with variable success. Industrial approaches, such as standardization, are not always applicable professional services, because of fundamental differences in conceptions of aims and the predictability of the results of action. Processes in health care can be classified into standard, routine and non-routine depending on the level of repetition and amount of variation, variety and uncertainty. Quality problems are different in each type: standard processes may produce deviations from targets, routines errors in classification, and non-routines failures in interpretation. Different management approaches for each type are discussed. A metaphor to assist discussion, The Broom, is introduced.