A class in itself.
The term ‘quality management’ has been largely accepted in German medicine. This is a good thing and was also a long time coming. After all, it involves the health and life of people.
Despite quality management, the quality experienced in various clinics is not always good. This is due to the fact that there is no compliance with the guidelines or that quality management systems were introduced which are simple and too lax in their enforcement.
It is of little use to patients if, for example, the quality management system prescribes that ‘the blue form must be placed in the blue folder’ but there is no monitoring of the medical services. This gives the sense of quality, but it is not a guarantee of the actual quality of the treatment.
The known quality management systems do not go far enough for us. We aim higher with our services and that consequences of poor behaviour must be strict. Our controlling and decision-making protocols are short.
Our quality management system that functions according to rules we have defined ourselves has the highest level of authority and therefore the greatest power. It even holds authority over the specialists. It would therefore be possible for the quality management administration to dismiss even a specialist if that specialist was delivering poor work, for example.
It does nothing to improve quality if quality management systems are implemented in name only but then do not apply to the head physicians or chief surgeons!
Please note: A quality management system ensures that the organisational and medical procedures are carried out in the most optimal way possible to prevent errors. This is the necessary pre-requisite for a good result, but it is not a guarantee. Even if we work perfectly, the outcome a surgery can never be 100% certain. After all, the metabolism and behaviour of the patient also affect the final result. However, our strict monitoring does insure that we come as close as possible to 100%.
