TY - JOUR AU - Pflueger, Dane PY - 2015 DA - 2015/04/23 TI - Accounting for quality: on the relationship between accounting and quality improvement in healthcare JO - BMC Health Services Research SP - 178 VL - 15 IS - 1 AB - Accounting-that is, standardized measurement, public reporting, performance evaluation and managerial control-is commonly seen to provide the core infrastructure for quality improvement in healthcare. Yet, accounting successfully for quality has been a problematic endeavor, often producing dysfunctional effects. This has raised questions about the appropriate role for accounting in achieving quality improvement. This paper contributes to this debate by contrasting the specific way in which accounting is understood and operationalized for quality improvement in the UK National Health Service (NHS) with findings from the broadly defined ‘social studies of accounting’ literature and illustrative examples. SN - 1472-6963 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-0769-4 DO - 10.1186/s12913-015-0769-4 ID - Pflueger2015 ER -