Healthcare quality management in Great Britain and Czech Republic

Abstract

Healthcare quality can be defined as the summary of the results achieved in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, based on findings of medical science and practice, or as the degree of excellence of the provided care in relation to a contemporary level of knowledge and technological development and in compliance with economic possibilities. Research and monitoring of the effectiveness of quality systems can be implemented in different ways: (1) measuring the quality system through the entire institution rating (self-assessment or accreditation), based on the assumption that appropriate care is the result of well-organized processes and systematic quality assurance and improvement; (2) measuring critical points in the process of care compliance of specialists with recommended practices or professional standards; (3) measuring outcomes in relation to the benefit of patients, such as clinical outcomes, client satisfaction and perceived quality of life in connection with the results of the provided care. The paper deals with monitoring the effectiveness of quality in health facilities based on customer satisfaction and compares patient satisfaction rating methodologies applied in the United Kingdom and in Czech Republic.