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Challenges of democratic experimentalism: A case study of the National Quality Forum in health care
Author(s) -
Hoflund A. Bryce,
Farquhar Marybeth
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
regulation and governance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.417
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1748-5991
pISSN - 1748-5983
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5991.2007.00031.x
Subject(s) - experimentalism , democracy , health care , public health , democratic deficit , quality (philosophy) , public administration , sociology , panacea (medicine) , health administration , public relations , political science , medicine , nursing , law , epistemology , alternative medicine , philosophy , pathology , politics
Networks are an increasingly common aspect of administrative life in almost any public policy arena. In health care, networks have emerged in order to address “wicked” quality problems. One such network organization, the National Quality Forum (NQF), was created as a response to the fragmentation and information deficit that have plagued the health care industry’s efforts to improve health care quality. Its purpose is to bring diverse health care stakeholders from the public and private sectors together to discuss and debate quality and performance measurement issues. Democratic experimentalism offers one way of assessing the NQF’s efforts. The purpose of this article is to examine the NQF’s efforts through the lens of democratic experimentalism and to explore some of the virtues and shortcomings of applying a democratic experimentalist approach to health care regulation.