Promotion of Healthcare Quality Improvement and Safety

In recent years, the world has been more concerned with patient safety issues. The Commission has been devoted to helping the Department of Health improve the healthcare safety. The short-term goals of the Commission include collecting evidence and researching current situations of healthcare organizations’ involvement in executing patient safety, defining patient safety taxonomy, developing health education leaflets and providing educational conferences, and establishing a patient safety website. The long-term goals are aimed to establish a voluntary reporting system and to develop the mechanism of patient safety from the perspectives of both the healthcare providers (healthcare organizations and staff) and the consumers (patients), so as to ensure healthcare quality.

In terms of  healthcare quality improvement, aside from cultivating correct concepts, it is very important to constantly use practical skills and benchmarking learning process. To efficiently execute this project, the Commission has outlined certain core tasks that include using diverse training and quality-management methods, creating a culture that highlights healthcare quality, hosting QI activities and competitions, and publishing publications concerning healthcare quality. To carry out these tasks, different quality improvement methodologies, training courses and activities that stimulate learning among benchmarking partners are held regularly. Moreover, healthcare QI contests and conferences for all of the healthcare organizations are hosted once every year. All of these activities are aimed to help healthcare organizations create a positive environment where their staff can always sense the patient-centered atmosphere that constantly keeps them pursuing the enhancement of quality.

Scope of Business

• Hold educational conferences of quality improvement and basic patient safety activities, and assist healthcare organizations in using quality improvement tools correctly to improve their quality continuously.
• Train quality personnel of quality improvement and patient safety, in order to establish and promotes a quality and patient safety related system inside healthcare organizations.
• Host regional conferences and lectures to provide opportunities of experience exchange and benchmarking learning.
• Provide on-site services and consultation according to the needs of individual hospitals.
• Hold contests of healthcare quality improvement, and provide a stage for healthcare organizations nationwide to observe and compete with others in a positive way for the purpose of improving healthcare quality.
• Publish manuals concerning quality and patient safety, case study and books to provide reference for healthcare organizations.
• Build up Taiwan’s patient safety and quality improvement information network, so the knowledge can be managed and shared.
• Enhance the collaboration relationships with international patient safety and quality organizations. Participate in international conferences of patient safety to speed up the expansion of patient safety works.
• Draft working guidelines and suggestions for quality and patient safety, for different organizations’ reference.
• Encourage patients and customers involvement and promote national Patient Safety Week activities.
• Conduct patient safety monitoring and research, to understand the knowledge and concerns of healthcare organizations, professionals and the public. This will provide important information for the promotion of patient safety.