The Maturity Level of Quality Management and Medical Service Improvement by Wielkopolska District Hospitals

Abstract

Theoretical background: Quality management and medical service improvement in district hospitals enables to achieve a number of internal and external benefits. It is a long-term process of conscious transformation of the existing state into a desired and accepted one by the concerned stakeholders. The diagnosis of the medical service organizations’ performance is an important aspect in the context of building a hospital of the future which is focused on quality, development and improvement.

Purpose of the article: The article reveals the positions of hospital managers (directors) on the current level of the quality management maturity service improvement of the medical facilities they manage.

Research methods: A diagnostic survey was conducted using a paper questionnaire. The form was handed in person and filled in the presence of the author. This provided an inducement for analysis and conclusions. The study was performed in 2022.

Main findings: The level of implementation of the quality management system (QMS) principles in the surveyed hospital organizations, despite the variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the environment, was evaluated at 3.39. This means that the practice of the QMS is widely established, but not in most areas. Therefore, the scope of the principles cannot be considered as complete. The result is different for the assessed maturity of quality excellence in the selected accreditation standards. The surveyed district hospitals evaluated their maturity level at 3.69. Thus, the respondents considered that the maturity level to be close to 70%. They identify the practice as typical (only some exceptions are deviations from it). The surveyed hospitals also have evidence of continuous improvement after at least one year. Another important aspect concerned maturity research in relation to innovation. The surveyed entities determined this parameter at the level of 3.50, which corresponds to approximately 66%. The highest level of maturity achieved the hospitals in the operational skills in conditions of disruption. They assessed the adaptation abilities and taken actions towards sustainable development at the level of 3.82 (72%). These results prove that the district hospitals in the Wielkopolska voivodeship take steps toward excellence, but their level of excellence in 2022 is not full (as it does not apply to 100% of occurrences, and the practice is also not implemented in entire hospitals, without exceptions).