Is organizational progress in the EFQM model related to employee satisfaction?

BACKGROUND: To determine whether there is greater employee satisfaction in organisations that have made more progress in implementation of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model. METHODS: A series of cross-sectional studies (one for each assessment cycle) comparing staff satisfaction survey results between groups of healthcare organisations by degree of implementation of the EFQM model (assessed in terms of external recognition of management quality in each organisation). SETTING: 30 healthcare organisations including hospitals, primary care and mental health providers in Osakidetza, the Basque public health service. PARTICIPANTS: Employees of 30 Osakidetza organisations. INTERVENTION: Progress in implementation of EFQM model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores in 9 dimensions of employee satisfaction from questionnaires administered in healthcare organisations in 4 assessment cycles between 2001 and 2010. RESULTS: Comparing satisfaction results in organisations granted Gold or Silver Q Awards and those without this type of external recognition, we found statistically significant differences in the dimensions of training and internal communication. Then, comparing recipients of Gold Q Awards with those with no Q Certification, differences in leadership style and in policy and strategy also emerged as significant. CONCLUSIONS: Progress of healthcare organisations in the implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model is associated with increases in their employee satisfaction in dimensions that can be managed at the level of each organisation, while dimensions in which no statistically significant differences were found represent common organisational elements with little scope for self-management.

Trescientos indicadores de calidad hospitalarios automáticos a partir del Conjunto Mínimo de Datos Básicos / Three hundred automatic inpatient quality indicators obtained from a Minimum Basic Data Set

Objetivo: Desarrollo de un sistema de seguimiento de calidad asistencial con indicadores de calidad hospitalarios automáticos (ICHA) obtenidos a partir del Conjunto Mínimo de Datos Básicos (CMBD) para facilitar el benchmarking y la mejora de la calidad hospitalaria. Material y métodos: Se creó un grupo de trabajo para obtener los ICHA a partir de información relevante del CMDB. A cada proceso clínico se le adjudicaron ICHA específicos con la colaboración de un médico especialista. Resultados: Se diseñaron 300 ICHA para su aplicación selectiva a los procesos clínicos. Se obtuvo un programa de explotación del CMBD que realiza el seguimiento de la actividad de hospitalización mediante 1.000 procesos clínicos con 300 ICHA. El programa se instaló en red en los hospitales de Osakidetza-Servicio Vasco de Salud y se aplicó al CMBD de 1995 a 2005 (más de 2 millones de altas). Conclusiones: El seguimiento de la calidad asistencial mediante indicadores obtenidos del CMBD -una base de datos con información digitalizada y normalizada disponible en todos los hospitales españoles-, permite realizar benchmarking entre hospitales. Ofrece información por procesos clínicos mediante ICHA, lo que facilita el benchmarking inmediato e identificar áreas de mejora o, al menos, problemas que requieren un estudio más profundo

Objective: To present a system for monitoring the quality of care in hospitals with automated inpatient quality indicators (AIQI) obtained from a minimum basic data set (MBDS) with a view to facilitating benchmarking and improving the quality of care in hospitals. Material and methods: A working group was set up to obtain the AIQI, based on quality-related information from the MDBS. Specific AIQI were assigned to each clinical process with the collaboration of specialist physicians. Results: Three hundred AIQI were designed to be selectively applied to clinical processes. We obtained a computer program to exploit the MDBS. The program monitors inpatient activity by means of 1000 clinical processes with 300 AIQI. The program was installed in the network of the hospitals of the Osakidetza-Basque Health Service and was applied to the MDBS from 1995 to 2005 (more than two million discharges). Conclusions: The quality of hospital healthcare can be measured by means of quality indicators obtained from the MBDS. The MDBS is a standardized database available in all Spanish hospitals that allows benchmarking among hospitals. It provides information on clinical processes through AIQI, facilitating immediate benchmarking. Areas requiring improvement and problems requiring more detailed study can be identified