Integrating quality management into clinical systems: tools for achieving clinical integration

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement
• Clinical Systems Engineering

Background:

• Healthcare clinical services often face challenges in establishing a unified management framework across diverse disciplines.
• Existing quality systems from manufacturing and service sectors offer a potential solution for multidisciplinary clinical management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the application of quality systems as a tool for healthcare managers.
• To establish a common framework for managing clinical services across the continuum of care.
• To adapt universal quality elements and documentation structures for healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing international quality system principles from manufacturing and service sectors.
• Redefining universal quality elements into healthcare-specific terminology.
• Adapting quality system documentation structures for healthcare applications.
• Applying a consistent quality management approach and documentation.

Main Results:

• Quality systems provide a universal framework applicable to multidisciplinary clinical systems management.
• Adapted quality elements and documentation structures facilitate the unification of diverse clinical services.
• A consistent quality management approach enables managers to overcome operational differences.

Conclusions:

• Quality systems are effective tools for healthcare managers to achieve clinical integration.
• The universal principles of quality management can be successfully applied to healthcare settings.
• Standardized quality policies and processes are crucial for unifying clinical services and ensuring effective management.