Health Policy and Leadership

HPM 552 Subject & Catalog Number

Class Notes

Course Title: Evolution of the Health Care Improvement Movement in the 21st Century

Over the past three decades, the health care quality improvement movement has advanced through four cumulative phases: project-based improvement at the front lines of care; systems-based redesign of organizations and care pathways; extension of improvement methods to address social determinants of health; and, most recently, political and policy action aimed at transforming health systems at scale. This course traces those phases in depth, examining how each built on the last to reshape clinical practice, organizational culture, community partnerships, and national policy. Through case studies and critical reflection, participants will explore how ideas such as measurement for improvement, patient safety, population health, and equity have evolved from isolated projects into powerful levers for systemic change.

The course is led by Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, KBE, President Emeritus and co‑founder of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Drawing on his experience as a pediatrician, academic leader at Harvard, policy advisor at the national and global levels, and a pioneer of modern quality improvement in health care, Dr. Berwick will provide firsthand insight into each phase of the movement—its origins, breakthroughs, setbacks, and future direction. Participants will engage with the lessons he has distilled from decades of work with hospitals, clinicians, health systems, and governments, and will leave better equipped to lead the next phase of improvement in their own settings.