{"id":1725,"date":"2025-04-24T09:19:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/?p=1725"},"modified":"2025-04-24T09:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:58:08","slug":"quality-assurance-in-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/quality-assurance-in-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Quality assurance in practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Concrete strategies for continuous improvement within healthcare facilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a sector where person-centered care is central, quality care is not a closing item but a core activity. For healthcare institutions, this means constantly striving for better outcomes, safer processes and higher satisfaction. In this article, we discuss how institutions can structurally strengthen quality care - using proven methods such as internal audits, feedback systems and applying quality standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Audits: from control to quality dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Audits are an essential tool to gain insight into current practices and expose areas for improvement. Not as a control mechanism, but as an invitation to reflection and dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Applications:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Process audits<\/em>\u00a0uncover bottlenecks in care processes;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Thematic audits<\/em>\u00a0focus on topics such as medication safety or hygiene;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Participatory audits<\/em>\u00a0actively involve clients, loved ones and staff in the quality process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Case study:<\/strong>&nbsp;Care Balance conducted internal audits in 2023 on building safety and ECD use, among other things. Based on these, improvement measures were evaluated via the PRISMA-light method. (source: Zorgbalans Annual Report 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Feedback systems as a continuous source of information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A second pillar of quality assurance is the active collection of feedback. Input from clients, employees and chain partners provides insight into what is going well and where adjustments need to be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Effective forms of feedback collection:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Digital client satisfaction measurements after moments of care;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regular team reflections or peer review meetings;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anonymous hotlines for improvement ideas or concerns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Figures:<\/strong>&nbsp;By 2024, QualityZorg reported a recommendation score of 100% among referrers, thanks in part to structural feedback processes. (Source:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.qualityzorg.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">qualitycare.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Quality standards to guide professional practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quality standards are the foundation for professional and verifiable care. Think of the Nursing Home Care Quality Framework or sectoral guidelines from the Netherlands Healthcare Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Implementation strategies:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embed standards in training programs and work meetings;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use guidelines as a starting point for improvement goals;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make standards accessible to all levels of the organization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>From research (Zorginstituut Nederland, 2022)<\/strong>&nbsp;shows that professionals need practical and context-specific quality information - with room for their own professional consideration. (source: Zorginstituut Nederland)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. Continuous improvement requires structure: the PDCA model<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is a widely used method within healthcare to systematically implement improvement actions. By working cyclically, improvement becomes a permanent part of practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Practical application:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Plan:<\/strong>\u00a0Formulate a concrete improvement goal;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Do:<\/strong>\u00a0Perform the improvement action in a defined setting;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Check:<\/strong>\u00a0Measure impact and involve stakeholders in evaluation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Act:<\/strong>\u00a0Secure the successful approach or make adjustments as needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong>&nbsp;Red Cross Hospital realized ten structural improvement measures in patient care and medical treatment based on reports by 2023. (source: RKZ Annual Report 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Finally, a culture of improvement requires ownership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quality assurance thrives in an organizational culture where learning, reflection and improvement are natural. This requires ownership at all levels - from management to shop floor. Combining audits, feedback, standards and improvement approaches creates a solid foundation for sustainable quality improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At\u00a0<strong>alarmGO<\/strong>\u00a0we believe that technology can reinforce that movement. By making processes transparent and picking up signals faster, healthcare organizations can improve in a more focused and effective way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Care balance. (2023).\u00a0<em>Annual Report 2023 - Quality.<\/em>\u00a0Accessed April 24, 2025, from<br><a class=\"\">https:\/\/zorgbalans2023.jaarverslag.org\/5-kwaliteit\/<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>QualityZorg. (2024).\u00a0<em>Our care delivery in numbers.<\/em>\u00a0Accessed April 24, 2025, from<br><a class=\"\">https:\/\/www.qualityzorg.nl\/home\/15062-2\/<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Care Institute of the Netherlands. (2022).\u00a0<em>Research on the collection and use of quality information in healthcare.<\/em>Accessed April 24, 2025, from<br><a class=\"\">https:\/\/www.zorginstituutnederland.nl\/publicaties\/rapport\/2022\/07\/14\/onderzoek-naar-het-verzamelen-en-gebruik-van-kwaliteitsinformatie-in-de-zorg<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Red Cross Hospital. (2023).\u00a0<em>Annual Report 2023 - Quality and Safety.<\/em>\u00a0Accessed April 24, 2025, from<br><a class=\"\">https:\/\/jaarverslag2023.rkz.nl\/kwaliteit\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Concrete strategie\u00ebn voor continue verbetering binnen zorginstellingen In een sector waar mensgerichte zorg centraal staat, is kwaliteitszorg geen sluitpost maar een kernactiviteit. Voor zorginstellingen betekent dit: voortdurend streven naar betere uitkomsten, veiligere processen en hogere tevredenheid. In dit artikel bespreken we hoe instellingen kwaliteitszorg structureel kunnen versterken \u2014 met bewezen methodes zoals interne audits, feedbacksystemen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alarmgo.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}