Final answer:
Quality Assurance (QA) is about establishing systems to prevent defects, with a proactive approach, while Quality Improvement (QI) focuses on enhancing processes or products based on feedback, which is more reactive in nature. Both approaches are vital, with QA establishing a baseline for quality and QI using data and feedback to further improve quality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Quality Assurance (QA) is a process-oriented approach focused on preventing defects in products or services by ensuring processes are followed to maintain quality standards. QA is proactive and involves establishing systems and continuous evaluation to ensure that all products meet the necessary quality criteria before they reach the customer. An example of QA is in the manufacturing industry where a company instills a protocol for quality checking components before they are assembled into the final product.
Quality Improvement (QI), on the other hand, is a continuous, systematic effort to improve processes, services, or products. QI is more reactive and data-driven, seeking to minimize variation and improve performance based on feedback and analysis. For example, in a hospital setting, QI might involve analyzing patient readmission rates and developing strategies to improve patient care and reduce these rates over time.
To use each appropriately, one might employ QA to establish a solid foundation for quality from the onset of a process, while using QI strategies to enhance and optimize quality as operations are underway and as new data are gathered. This approach allows for the development of a solid infrastructure to maintain baseline quality standards (QA) while continually adapting and improving (QI) based on actual performance measurements and customer feedback.