Evidence-based organization and patient safety strategies in European hospitals

Cornerstones of a sustainable national quality policy: A qualitative study based on international expert opinions

BACKGROUND

National initiatives launched to improve the quality of care have grown exponentially over the last decade. Public reporting, accreditation and governmental inspection form the basis for quality in Flemish (Belgian) hospitals. Due to the lack of evidence for these national initiatives and the questions concerning their sustainability, our research aims to identify cornerstones of a sustainable national quality policy for acute-care hospitals based on international expert opinion.

METHODS

A qualitative study was conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 renowned international quality and patient safety experts selected by purposive sampling. Interviews focussed on participants' perspectives and their recommendations for a future, sustainable quality policy. Inductive analysis was carried out with themes being generated from the data using the constant comparison method.

RESULTS

Three major and five minor themes were identified and integrated into a framework as a basis for national quality policies. Quality culture, minimum requirements for quality education and quality control as well as continuous learning and improvement act as cornerstones of this framework.

CONCLUSIONS

Complementary to the current national policy, this study demonstrated the need for profound attention to quality cultures in acute-care hospitals. Policymakers need to provide a control system and minimum requirements for quality education for all healthcare workers. A model for continuous learning and improvement with data feedback loops has to be installed in each hospital to obtain a sustainable quality system. This framework can inspire policymakers to further develop bottom-up initiatives in co-governance with all relevant stakeholders adapted to individual hospitals' context.

Patient Safety Culture in European Hospitals: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Poorly organized health systems with inadequate leadership limit the development of the robust safety cultures capable of preventing consequential adverse events. Although safety culture has been studied in hospitals worldwide, the relationship between clinician perceptions about patient safety and their actual clinical practices has received little attention. Despite the need for mixed methods studies to achieve a deeper understanding of safety culture, there are few studies providing comparisons of hospitals in different countries.

PURPOSE

This study compared the safety culture of hospitals from the perspective of nurses in four European countries, including Croatia, Hungary, Spain, and Sweden.

DESIGN

A comparative mixed methods study with a convergent parallel design.

METHODS

Data collection included a survey, participant interviews, and workplace observations. The sample was nurses working in the internal medicine, surgical, and emergency departments of two public hospitals from each country. Survey data (n = 538) was collected with the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) and qualitative date was collected through 24 in-depth interviews and 147 h of non-participant observation. Survey data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially, and content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data.

RESULTS

The overall perception of safety culture for most dimensions was 'adequate' in Sweden and 'adequate' to 'poor' in the other countries with inconsistencies identified between survey and qualitative data. Although teamwork within units was the most positive dimension across countries, the qualitative data did not consistently demonstrate support, respect, and teamwork as normative attributes in Croatia and Hungary. Staffing and workload were identified as major areas for improvement across countries, although the nurse-to-patient ratios were the highest in Sweden, followed by Spain, Hungary, and Croatia.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite all countries being part of the European Union, most safety culture dimensions require improvement, with few measured as good, and most deemed to be adequate to poor. Dimension level perceptions were at times incongruent across countries, as observed patient safety practices or interview perspectives were inconsistent with a positive safety culture. Differences between countries may be related to national culture or variability in health system structures permitted by the prevailing European Union health policy.

Contribution of Healthcare Professionals in Issues that Relate to Quality Management

Background:

The health sector should adopt integrated quality systems because of the need to survive and develop in a highly competitive environment. Inefficiency of mechanistic procedures, along with inadequate administrative infrastructure, impose innovative appoaches to improve operations and increase revenues by reducing quality feilures.

Objective:

A health system that relies on quality healthcare services can directly benefit the entire society, may reduce mortality, disease severity, and increase life expectancy. The following literature review constitutes an attempt to assess the contribution of healthcare professionals in issues that relate to quality management over the course of recent years.

Methods:

This systematic review took place between May 2019 and June 2020 in the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Wiley Online Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus search engine databases. Study Selection and Data Extraction: This review includes articles written in English language, which contain quantitative and qualitative analysis of healthcare professionals’ involvement in quality activities. Correspondingly, the exclusion criteria were: languages other than English, secondary surveys (general and systematic reviews or post-analyses), letters to the publisher, and editorials or articles that did not illuminate the subject under study. After an extensive literature review, a standardised Excel spreadsheet was developed for data extraction from the included studies. The main characteristics of the studies were recorded (author’s name, place and time of work, the article under study and the methodology) so that all research articles corresponding to the review could be included. 31 articles were included.

Results:

Healthcare professionals are engaged in quality improvement activities and there is high association between quality management strategies and clinical processes. A systematic approach on healthcare activities based on the input of healthcare professionals can help increase business performance, reduce errors, improve patient safety, and contribute to a more proactive care.

Conclusion:

Health professionals’ contribution in the strategic planning of healthcare organisations that address quality activities can lead to better output, both in patient satisfaction and safety.

Organizational structure analysis of the Patient Safety Center in hospitals of the Sentinel Network

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the organizational structure of the Patient Safety Centers.

METHOD

This is an exploratory and descriptive study with 12 coordinators of the Patient Safety Center. Data were collected using a structured and validated questionnaire with two evaluation domains based on Donabedian's triad of structure and process.

RESULTS

The Patient Safety Center was implemented in the services with the participation and support of senior management. Human resources and materials are shared with other sectors. Points for improvement were identified regarding the center's activities, sentinel event prevention, risk management strategies, and professional training.

CONCLUSION

Strategies are needed to ensure a non-punitive culture, event notification, sentinel event prevention, core activities, risk management, and professional training.

Recommended care received by geriatric hip fracture patients: where are we now and where are we heading?

INTRODUCTION

Despite the availability of clinical guidelines on the prevention and treatment of geriatric hip fractures, the percentage of recommended care received by patients is low. We conducted an importance-performance analysis for prioritizing interventions to improve the in-hospital management of these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A secondary data analysis was conducted on the in-hospital treatment of 540 geriatric hip fracture patients in 34 hospitals in Belgium, Italy, and Portugal. First, we assessed the level of expert consensus on the process indicators composing international guidelines on hip fracture treatment. Second, guideline adherence on in-hospital care was evaluated within and across hospitals. Third, an importance-performance analysis was conducted, linking expert consensus to guideline adherence.

RESULTS

Level of expert consensus was high (above 75%) for 12 of 22 process indicators identified from the literature. There is large between and within hospital variation in guideline adherence for these indicators and for none of the 540 patients were all 22 process indicators adhered to. Importance-performance analysis demonstrated that three indicators that had a high level of expert consensus also had a high level of adherence (above 80%). Nine indicators, most of which have been previously linked to patient outcomes, had a high level of expert consensus but a consistently low level of adherence across hospitals and are identified as priority areas for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Guideline adherence for the treatment of geriatric hip fracture patients is remarkably suboptimal. Importance-performance analysis is a useful strategic approach to assist practitioners and healthcare managers to improve the quality of care.

Characteristics of value-based health and social care from organisations' perspectives (OrgValue): a mixed-methods study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Health and social care systems are under pressure to organise care around patients' needs with constrained resources. Several studies reveal that care is constantly challenged by balancing economic requirements against individual patients' preferences and needs. Therefore, value-based health and social care aims to facilitate patient-centredness while taking the resources spent into consideration. The OrgValue project examines the implementation of patient-centredness while considering the health and social care organisations' resource orientation in the model region of the city of Cologne, Germany.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

First, the implementation status of patient-centredness as well as its facilitators and barriers-also in terms of resource orientation-will be assessed through face-to-face interviews with decision-makers (at least n=18) from health and social care organisations (HSCOs) in Cologne. Second, patients' understanding of patient-centredness and their preferences and needs will be revealed by conducting face-to-face interviews (at least n=15). Third, the qualitative results will provide the basis for a quantitative survey of decision-makers from all HSCOs in Cologne, which will include questions on patient-centredness, resource orientation and determinants of implementation. Fourth, qualitative interviews with decision-makers from different types of HSCOs will be conducted to develop a uniform measurement instrument on the cost and service structure of HSCOs.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

For all collected data, the relevant data protection regulations will be adhered to. Consultation and a positive vote from the ethics committee of the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne have been obtained. All personal identifiers (eg, name, date of birth) will be pseudonymised. Dissemination strategies include a feedback report as well as research and development workshops for the organisations with the aim of initiating organisational learning and organisational development, presenting results in publications and at conferences, and public relations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

DRKS00011925.

Perceptions of quality and safety and experience of adverse events in 27 European Union healthcare systems, 2009-2013

Objective

To assess trends in the perception of quality and safety between 2009 and 2013 in the European Union (EU).

Design

We analysed data from waves 72.2 and 80.2 of the Eurobarometer survey. Multilevel logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic factors and country-level health expenditure were fitted to assess changes between 2009 and 2013 in each of the assessed outcomes.

Setting

Twenty-seven EU member states.

Participants

A total of n = 26 663 (2009) and n = 26 917 (2013) individuals aged ≥15 years.

Main outcome measure(s)

Outcomes included the perception of being harmed in hospital and non-hospital care; rating of the overall quality of the healthcare system; and personal or family experience of adverse events.

Results

Respondents in 2013 were more likely to think that it was likely to be harmed in hospital (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.09; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.05-1.13; P < 0.001) and non-hospital care (OR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.07-1.15; P < 0.001), compared to 2009. However, they were more likely to rate the quality of their country's healthcare system as good (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.21-1.32; P < 0.001) and no significant change over time was identified in reported experience of adverse events (OR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.95-1.05; P = 0.929). Lower health expenditure and decrease in health expenditure between the two waves were associated with worse outcomes in overall quality and perceptions of harm. There was significant variation between and within countries in all indicators.

Conclusions

The public's perception of safety in European healthcare systems declined in recent years, which highlights that there are safety issues that could be addressed.

Content validity of a health science evidence-based practice questionnaire (HS-EBP) with a web-based modified Delphi approach

Objective

To develop a tool for measuring evidence-based practice (EBP) and to evaluate its content validity by Delphi technique. A five-factor/dimensions latent structure for the EBP construct was defined a priori and operationalized.

Design

Online Delphi technique.

Setting and Participants

A group of 32 national EBP experts from different health professions.

Intervention

The experts rated the initial questionnaire items according to adequacy and relevance criteria using four-point Likert scales and including open fields for suggestions, with basic and supplementary criteria consensus established a priori.

Main Outcome Measure

Level of consensus in the Content Validity Index Item.

Results

An EBP construct solution was designed with the elements that constitute the operationalization proposal of the EBP. This initial version consisted of 76 items, whereas the version arising from the Delphi study was made up of 73 items. In the first round, 13 items did not reach the minimum level of consensus, and 12 of these were reformulated. Three additional items were removed in the second round.

Conclusions

A new psychometric tool forms measuring EBP with a five-factor structure, and 73 items obtained adequate content validity evidence based on expert opinion.

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 9: conceptualising disinvestment in the local healthcare setting

BACKGROUND

This is the ninth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. The disinvestment literature has broadened considerably over the past decade; however there is a significant gap regarding systematic, integrated, organisation-wide approaches. This debate paper presents a discussion of the conceptual aspects of disinvestment from the local perspective.

DISCUSSION

Four themes are discussed: Terminology and concepts, Motivation and purpose, Relationships with other healthcare improvement paradigms, and Challenges to disinvestment. There are multiple definitions for disinvestment, multiple concepts underpin the definitions and multiple alternative terms convey these concepts; some definitions overlap and some are mutually exclusive; and there are systematic discrepancies in use between the research and practice settings. Many authors suggest that the term 'disinvestment' should be avoided due to perceived negative connotations and propose that the concept be considered alongside investment in the context of all resource allocation decisions and approached from the perspective of optimising health care. This may provide motivation for change, reduce disincentives and avoid some of the ethical dilemmas inherent in other disinvestment approaches. The impetus and rationale for disinvestment activities are likely to affect all aspects of the process from identification and prioritisation through to implementation and evaluation but have not been widely discussed. A need for mechanisms, frameworks, methods and tools for disinvestment is reported. However there are several health improvement paradigms with mature frameworks and validated methods and tools that are widely-used and well-accepted in local health services that already undertake disinvestment-type activities and could be expanded and built upon. The nature of disinvestment brings some particular challenges for policy-makers, managers, health professionals and researchers. There is little evidence of successful implementation of 'disinvestment' projects in the local setting, however initiatives to remove or replace technologies and practices have been successfully achieved through evidence-based practice, quality and safety activities, and health service improvement programs.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the construct of 'disinvestment' may be problematic at the local level. A new definition and two potential approaches to disinvestment are proposed to stimulate further research and discussion.

Scoping review of potential quality indicators for hip fracture patient care

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to identify existing or potential quality of care indicators (ie, current indicators as well as process and outcome measures) in the acute or postacute period, or across the continuum of care for older adults with hip fracture.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

SETTING

All care settings.

SEARCH STRATEGY

English peer-reviewed studies published from January 2000 to January 2016 were included. Literature search strategies were developed, and the search was peer-reviewed. Two reviewers independently piloted all forms, and all articles were screened in duplicate.

RESULTS

The search yielded 2729 unique articles, of which 302 articles were included (11.1%). When indicators (eg, in-hospital mortality, acute care length of stay) and potential indicators (eg, comorbidities developed in hospital, walking ability) were grouped by the outcome or process construct they were trying to measure, the most common constructs were measures of mortality (outcome), length of stay (process) and time-sensitive measures (process). There was heterogeneity in definitions within constructs between studies. There was also a paucity of indicators and potential indicators in the postacute period.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve quality of care for patients with hip fracture and create a more efficient healthcare system, mechanisms for the measurement of quality of care across the entire continuum, not just during the acute period, are required. Future research should focus on decreasing the heterogeneity in definitions of quality indicators and the development and implementation of quality indicators for the postacute period.

The effectiveness and variation of acute medical units: a systematic review

PURPOSE

To evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of acute medical units (AMUs) compared with other models of care and compare the components of AMU models.

DATA SOURCES

Six electronic databases and grey literature sources searched between 1990 and 2014.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies reporting on AMUs as an intervention for unplanned medical presentations to hospital with the inclusion of all outcome measures/study designs/comparators.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data on study characteristics/outcomes/AMU components were extracted by one author and confirmed by a second.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Seventeen studies of 12 AMUs across five countries were included. The AMU model was associated with a reduction in-hospital length of stay (LOS) in all analyses ranging from 0.3 to 2.6 days; and a reduction in mortality in 12 of the 14 analyses with the change ranging from a 0.1% increase to a 8.8% reduction. Evidence relating to readmissions and patient/staff satisfaction was less conclusive. There was variation in the following components of AMUs: admission criteria, entry sources, functions and consultant work patterns.

CONCLUSION

This review provides evidence that AMUs are associated with reductions in-hospital LOS and, less convincingly, mortality compared with other models of care when implemented in European and Australasian settings. Reported estimates may be affected by residual confounding. This review reports heterogeneity in components of the AMU model. Further work to identify what constitutes the key components of an AMU is needed to improve the quality and effectiveness of acute medical care. This is of particular importance given the escalating demand on acute services.

Interface transition checklists in spinal surgery

ISSUE

Recently, quality tools have been promoted to improve patient safety and process efficiency in healthcare. While surgeons primarily focused on surgical issues, like infection rates or implant design, we introduced pre-admission and preoperative checklists in the early 2000s.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

To assess the efficiency of these tools in a neurosurgical department, we performed a survey of all spinal instrumentation patients operated in 2011 (n = 147). The results revealed several problems.

CHOICE OF SOLUTION

We consequently redesigned the checklists accompanied by flanking measures, such as written  and online accessible standards. Furthermore, the staff was trained to use the updated quality tools.

IMPLEMENTATION

The measures were implemented in 2012.

EVALUATION

Results were re-evaluated in a second survey in 2013 (n = 162). We found that the use of pre-admission checklists significantly increased from 47 to 96%, while the use of preoperative checklists significantly decreased from 86 to 75%. Within the same period, the quality and completeness of the checklists did, however, increase, so that in 2013, 43% of the patients had a completely processed preoperative checklist, compared to 29% in 2011.

LESSONS LEARNED

The introduction of checklists alone did not in itself guarantee an improved workflow. The introduction must be accompanied by other measures, like written standards and regular training of employees. Otherwise, the positive effect wears off quickly. Nevertheless, we could show that the stringent application of quality tools can induce a sustainable change. Our data further suggest that the clear and traceable delegation of responsibilities is of high importance.

Deepening our Understanding of Quality in Australia (DUQuA): a study protocol for a nationwide, multilevel analysis of relationships between hospital quality management systems and patient factors

INTRODUCTION

Despite the growing body of research on quality and safety in healthcare, there is little evidence of the association between the way hospitals are organised for quality and patient factors, limiting our understanding of how to effect large-scale change. The 'Deepening our Understanding of Quality in Australia' (DUQuA) study aims to measure and examine relationships between (1) organisation and department-level quality management systems (QMS), clinician leadership and culture, and (2) clinical treatment processes, clinical outcomes and patient-reported perceptions of care within Australian hospitals.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The DUQuA project is a national, multilevel, cross-sectional study with data collection at organisation (hospital), department, professional and patient levels. Sample size calculations indicate a minimum of 43 hospitals are required to adequately power the study. To allow for rejection and attrition, 70 hospitals across all Australian jurisdictions that meet the inclusion criteria will be invited to participate. Participants will consist of hospital quality management professionals; clinicians; and patients with stroke, acute myocardial infarction and hip fracture. Organisation and department-level QMS, clinician leadership and culture, patient perceptions of safety, clinical treatment processes, and patient outcomes will be assessed using validated, evidence-based or consensus-based measurement tools. Data analysis will consist of simple correlations, linear and logistic regression and multilevel modelling. Multilevel modelling methods will enable identification of the amount of variation in outcomes attributed to the hospital and department levels, and the factors contributing to this variation.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval has been obtained. Results will be disseminated to individual hospitals in de-identified national and international benchmarking reports with data-driven recommendations. This ground-breaking national study has the potential to influence decision-making on the implementation of quality and safety systems and processes in Australian and international hospitals.

Implementation of Departmental Quality Strategies Is Positively Associated with Clinical Practice: Results of a Multicenter Study in 73 Hospitals in 7 European Countries

Background

Given the amount of time and resources invested in implementing quality programs in hospitals, few studies have investigated their clinical impact and what strategies could be recommended to enhance its effectiveness.

Objective

To assess variations in clinical practice and explore associations with hospital- and department-level quality management systems.

Design

Multicenter, multilevel cross-sectional study.

Setting and Participants

Seventy-three acute care hospitals with 276 departments managing acute myocardial infarction, deliveries, hip fracture, and stroke in seven countries.

Intervention

None.

Measures

Predictor variables included 3 hospital- and 4 department-level quality measures. Six measures were collected through direct observation by an external surveyor and one was assessed through a questionnaire completed by hospital quality managers. Dependent variables included 24 clinical practice indicators based on case note reviews covering the 4 conditions (acute myocardial infarction, deliveries, hip fracture and stroke). A directed acyclic graph was used to encode relationships between predictors, outcomes, and covariates and to guide the choice of covariates to control for confounding.

Results and Limitations

Data were provided on 9021 clinical records by 276 departments in 73 hospitals. There were substantial variations in compliance with the 24 clinical practice indicators. Weak associations were observed between hospital quality systems and 4 of the 24 indicators, but on analyzing department-level quality systems, strong associations were observed for 8 of the 11 indicators for acute myocardial infarction and stroke. Clinical indicators supported by higher levels of evidence were more frequently associated with quality systems and activities.

Conclusions

There are significant gaps between recommended standards of care and clinical practice in a large sample of hospitals. Implementation of department-level quality strategies was significantly associated with good clinical practice. Further research should aim to develop clinically relevant quality standards for hospital departments, which appear to be more effective than generic hospital-wide quality systems.

The impact of a national clinician-led audit initiative on care and mortality after hip fracture in England: an external evaluation using time trends in non-audit data

BACKGROUND

Hip fracture is the most common serious injury of older people. The UK National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) was launched in 2007 as a national collaborative, clinician-led audit initiative to improve the quality of hip fracture care, but has not yet been externally evaluated.

METHODS

We used routinely collected data on 471,590 older people (aged 60 years and older) admitted with a hip fracture to National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England between 2003 and 2011. The main variables of interest were the use of early surgery (on day of admission, or day after) and mortality at 30 days from admission. We compared time trends in the periods 2003-2007 and 2007-2011 (before and after the launch of the NHFD), using Poisson regression models to adjust for demographic changes.

FINDINGS

The number of hospitals participating in the NHFD increased from 11 in 2007 to 175 in 2011. From 2007 to 2011, the rate of early surgery increased from 54.5% to 71.3%, whereas the rate had remained stable over the period 2003-2007. Thirty-day mortality fell from 10.9% to 8.5%, compared with a small reduction from 11.5% to 10.9% previously. The annual relative reduction in adjusted 30-day mortality was 1.8% per year in the period 2003-2007, compared with 7.6% per year over 2007-2011 (P<0.001 for the difference).

INTERPRETATION

The launch of a national clinician-led audit initiative was associated with substantial improvements in care and survival of older people with hip fracture in England.

Evaluation Indexes of Military Hospitals From the Experts' Perspective: A Qualitative Study

Given the importance of evaluation in an organization and considering the objectives and missions of military hospitals, we aimed to extract some indexes (in addition to common evaluation indexes) for use in evaluating military hospitals. This was an applied-type qualitative study. The participants were 15 health experts who were first chosen by a purposeful sampling, which was then continued by theoretical sampling. The data obtained were analyzed by using MAXQDA11 software and the content analysis method. After 290 obtained codes were analyzed, 17 indexes in 6 domains were extracted, including capacity development for crisis periods, equipment and facilities, training and research, passive defense, treatment, and services, from which 8 indexes were related to capacity development for crisis periods and equipment and facilities (4 indexes each), 3 indexes were related to services, and 6 indexes were related to training and research, passive defense, and treatment (2 indexes each). The results of the present research, as a supplement to current evaluation methods such as accreditation, can be used for the comprehensive evaluation of military hospitals.

Developing performance indicators for clinical governance in dimensions of risk management and clinical effectiveness

OBJECTIVE

This study has been designed and conducted to develop domestic indicators for evaluating the performance of clinical governance in dimensions of risk management and clinical effectiveness.

DESIGN

This study implemented a 5-stage process including conducting a comprehensive literature review, expert panel (∼ 1000 h per person per session, 11 experts), semi-structured interviews, a 2-round Delphi study (33 experts were in attendance) and a final expert panel (8 experts were in attendance).

SETTING

East Azerbaijan-Iran Province.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-six specialists and experts in different fields of medical sciences.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Importance and applicability of indicators.

RESULTS

Using a thorough literature review, 361 indicators (129 risk management indicators in 4 dimensions and 232 clinical effectiveness indicators in 18 dimensions) were found. After conducting expert panels and interviews, the number of indicators decreased to 168 cases (65 risk management indicators in 4 dimensions and 103 clinical effectiveness indicators in 12 dimensions). Two rounds of Delphi identified four indicators that were omitted. The members of the final expert panel agreed on 113 indicators (43 risk management indicators in 4 dimensions and 70 clinical effectiveness indicators in 11 dimensions).

CONCLUSION

In this study, indicators for assessing clinical governance in domains of risk management and clinical effectiveness were designed that can be used by policy-makers and other authorities for improving the quality of services and evaluating the performance of clinical governance. Those indicators can be used with slight modifications in other countries having healthcare systems similar to that of Iran.

Deepening our understanding of quality improvement in Europe (DUQuE): overview of a study of hospital quality management in seven countries

Introduction and Objective

This paper provides an overview of the DUQuE (Deepening our Understanding of Quality Improvement in Europe) project, the first study across multiple countries of the European Union (EU) to assess relationships between quality management and patient outcomes at EU level. The paper describes the conceptual framework and methods applied, highlighting the novel features of this study.

Design

DUQuE was designed as a multi-level cross-sectional study with data collection at hospital, pathway, professional and patient level in eight countries.

Setting and Participants

We aimed to collect data for the assessment of hospital-wide constructs from up to 30 randomly selected hospitals in each country, and additional data at pathway and patient level in 12 of these 30.

Main outcome measures

A comprehensive conceptual framework was developed to account for the multiple levels that influence hospital performance and patient outcomes. We assessed hospital-specific constructs (organizational culture and professional involvement), clinical pathway constructs (the organization of care processes for acute myocardial infarction, stroke, hip fracture and deliveries), patient-specific processes and outcomes (clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient experience) and external constructs that could modify hospital quality (external assessment and perceived external pressure).

Results

Data was gathered from 188 hospitals in 7 participating countries. The overall participation and response rate were between 75% and 100% for the assessed measures.

Conclusions

This is the first study assessing relation between quality management and patient outcomes at EU level. The study involved a large number of respondents and achieved high response rates. This work will serve to develop guidance in how to assess quality management and makes recommendations on the best ways to improve quality in healthcare for hospital stakeholders, payers, researchers, and policy makers throughout the EU.

The effect of certification and accreditation on quality management in 4 clinical services in 73 European hospitals

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between ISO 9001 certification, healthcare accreditation and quality management in European hospitals.

DESIGN

A mixed method multi-level cross-sectional design in seven countries. External teams assessed clinical services on the use of quality management systems, illustrated by four clinical pathways.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Seventy-three acute care hospitals with a total of 291 services managing acute myocardial infarction (AMI), hip fracture, stroke and obstetric deliveries, in Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Four composite measures of quality and safety [specialized expertise and responsibility (SER), evidence-based organization of pathways (EBOP), patient safety strategies (PSS) and clinical review (CR)] applied to four pathways.

RESULTS

Accreditation in isolation showed benefits in AMI and stroke more than in deliveries and hip fracture; the greatest significant association was with CR in stroke. Certification in isolation showed little benefit in AMI but had more positive association with the other conditions; greatest significant association was in PSS with stroke. The combination of accreditation and certification showed least benefit in EBOP, but significant benefits in SER (AMI), in PSS (AMI, hip fracture and stroke) and in CR (AMI and stroke).

CONCLUSIONS

Accreditation and certification are positively associated with clinical leadership, systems for patient safety and clinical review, but not with clinical practice. Both systems promote structures and processes, which support patient safety and clinical organization but have limited effect on the delivery of evidence-based patient care. Further analysis of DUQuE data will explore the association of certification and accreditation with clinical outcomes.