TY - JOUR T1 - Why don't physicians enthusiastically support quality improvement programmes? JF - Quality and Safety in Health Care JO - Qual Saf Health Care SP - 6 LP - 6 DO - 10.1136/qhc.11.1.6 VL - 11 IS - 1 AU - P G Shekelle Y1 - 2002/03/01 UR - http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/11/1/6.abstract N2 - Resistance of physicians to clinical governance will continue until they can see how a real programme works operationally and a measurable leap in quality is achieved. In the absence of a role model, the opportunity exists for the NHS to fund primary care groups/trusts to develop a model that can be seen to work Numerous studies over the past 20 years have documented the extent of quality problems with health care in most Western European and North American countries. Efforts to improve the quality of care have therefore taken on increasing urgency, and the Department of Health in the UK has now promoted clinical governance as a mechanism for quality assurance and improvement.The paper by Campbell and colleagues in this issue of QSHC details the challenges for this policy in achieving its goal, in particular the role and concerns of physicians as to how clinical governance is going to be implemented.1 The resistance by physicians towards quality assurance and quality improvement efforts are, to my knowledge, common across all countries and health systems. This might seem paradoxical since, if one asked these physicians whether they wanted to deliver the best quality care possible to their patients, they would all say they did. Why, … ER -