Quality assurance and risk management in Japan

The quality-control (QC) taskforce for the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology assesses QC activities found in radiology departments throughout Japan by way of questionnaires sent out to nearly 500 hospitals. The average response rate is 44%. With the data collected from the questionnaires, the problems seen in Japanese hospitals, in terms of QC and risk management, are identified, and suggestions are made to determine the best approaches to solving the problems. In conclusion, Japanese hospitals are neither fully adopting the QC procedures used in industrial QC, nor adopting a systematic method of assessing QC activities from inside and outside the organisation, as seen in the USA. Also, Japanese hospitals should be more aware of malpractice lawsuits.