Implementing QA programs in managed care health plans: factors contributing to success.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that contribute to the success or failure of quality assurance programs implemented by Israeli managed care health plans.

Design/methodology/approach: An in-depth study of seven quality assurance programs was conducted, comparing successful with unsuccessful ones using the comparative "case study" method. Employing a semi-structured questionnaire, 42 program directors and professionals in the field were interviewed.