Course Details

1. Know the basic principles and the contribution of Quality in health services.
2. Specify the strengths and the areas that need improvement through the use of Quality tools.
3. Set and monitor Quality criteria and indicators that will offer a proven evaluation system of organization designs, processes and performance both internally and based on international standards.
4. Identify and manage potential obstacles/challenges that organizations are faced with when adopting continuous quality improvement in healthcare.
5. Understand and implement quality management strategies to successfully integrate it into everyday organizational operations.

The concept and significance of quality. Introduction – Quality Management in Health Services, International Experience.

Quality evaluation and measurement. Quality assurance systems and total quality patterns models in health services.

Data Collection and Analysis Tools for Quality Improvement. Models for data analysis and parameter synthesis to support effective decisions – Statistical Quality Control.

Professional quality. Clinical Control – Clinical Effectiveness – Documented Health Care – Clinical Governance.

Required Strategies for Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Services: Comparative evaluation (Benchmarking), Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Reorganization (Business Process Reengineering), Use of diagnostic tools (balanced Scorecard).

• Papanikolaou, V. (2007) Quality in Health Services, Principles – Methods and Implementations, Papazisis Publications, Athens, New revised edition 2012

• Donabedian, A. (2003) An Introduction to Quality Assurance in Health Care. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Grol, R. , Baker, R. (2004) Quality Improvement Research. BMJ Books, London
• Hill, C., Jones, G. (2001) Strategic Management Theory. Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin, USA
• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (2000) Accreditation standards for Hospitals. Joint Commission International, USA
• Kaplan, R., Norton, D. (1996) Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
• Kelly, D.L. (2003) Applying Quality Management in Healthcare: A Process for Improvement. An AUPHA/HAP Book, Washington, DC.
• Legido-Quigley H., McKee M., Ellen Nolte, Glinos I. A. (2008) Assuring the quality of health care in the European Union. W.H.O, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
• Lighter, D. E., Fair, D.C. (2004) Quality Management in Health Care – Principles and Methods. Jones & Bastlett, London.
• Ovretveit, J. (2004) Health Service Quality: An introduction to quality methods for Health Service. Blackwell science, London.
• Swage, Th. (2004) Clinical Governance in Health Care Practice. Butterwoth-Heinemann, New York.

The teaching of the theoretical part includes lectures, case-studies, and work groups to better understand the theoretical units regarding quality management in health services. A whiteboard, power point, pictures, case-studies and work groups are used to assist teaching, in order to achieve the better understanding and comprehension of theory.