Which statement describes the relationship between quality assurance and quality improvement?

• A. Quality assurance is proactive and quality improvement is defensive
• B. Quality assurance is defensive and quality improvement is proactive
• C. Both are defensive
• D. Both are proactive

Answer: (B)

In quality work, quality assurance focuses on making sure processes and outputs meet established standards, often through audits, checks, and adherence to procedures. It acts as a safeguard to prevent nonconformity by enforcing rules and verifying compliance. Quality improvement, meanwhile, is an ongoing, data-driven effort to make processes better—finding ways to work more efficiently and effectively and implementing changes before problems occur.

Because QA centers on guarding against defects by ensuring standards are met, it’s best described as defensive. QI is about actively making changes to improve performance, which is inherently proactive. In practice, QA might involve reviewing calls to ensure protocols were followed and correcting issues after they’re found, while QI uses analysis and improvement cycles to redesign workflows and raise overall performance. This relationship—QA as defensive and QI as proactive—best fits how these two functions typically operate.