Sollecito (public health leadership, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Johnson (medicine, U. of New South Wales, Australia) detail the application of continuous quality improvement methodology for current and future health care administrators. Joined by contributors working in patient safety, pediatrics, nursing, health policy and related fields in the US and Australia, they connect operations management, organizational behavior, and health services research to the implementation, management, and institutionalization of quality improvement concepts and methods. Concepts and tools explained include variation and process improvement, managing teams, assessing outcomes, and measuring consumer satisfaction. They also cover implementation aspects including designing the learning organization, medical error, and the role of information technology. An applications section follows, which addresses settings such as primary care, public health, nursing, and quality improvement organizations. This edition integrates new concepts like the role of the patient, implementation in resource-poor nations, nursing, and the use of social marketing in implementation. Cases are presented in a companion text, Implementing Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care: A Global Casebook (2012). Annotation ⓒ2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)