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Bacground: The quality of work has been increasingly given more emphasis in all areas of life, the health care being no exception. Without appropriate measures or indicators of health care outcomes, a health care system cannot be improved. The results of quality of work are of utmost importance as they serve as the basis for various comparisons, e.g.among units, department, individual doctors. The aim of this analysis was to establish the results of work in tertiary and secondary centres, and with individual doctors, and compare them in order to approve the good ones and to find those that need be improved. Methods: The analysis involved 32 parameters concerning the results of work, the same parameters as used elsewhere in Europe, with all deliveries and newborns in Slovenia in the time period 2003–2007. We established the differences in the work of tertiary and secondary centres and used them in various comparisons. Results: We found no significant differences among the Slovene maternity hospitals in the incidence of eclampsia during labour, hysterectomy and in the incidence of lethal malformations among early neonatal deaths. We did find numerous significant differences in the manage- ment of labour, termination of labour and in the newborn's condition after birth. Conclusions: Slovenian perinatal information system is unique in Europe for as long as 22 years it has enabled a steady gathering of a large number of perinatal data for every woman who has given birth in Slovenia. Annual analyses that are done on the basis of the collected data for selected quality indicators within the project »Quality of Health Care in Slovenia« make it possible for every maternity hospital in Slovenia or every obstetrician to get an insight into the quality of their work and to compare it with the work of other maternity departments and individual doctors. The system gives the professional bodies and individual doctors an opportunity to improve the results of their professional work which deviate negatively from Slovenian standards.

Objective: We performed a study on almost 20,000 Slovene patients with arterial hypertension (AH) to evaluate age- and gender-dependent blood pressure control, differences in the rate of AH control in the period 2002–2008, and to validate a potential impact of selected quality indicators on blood pressure control.Methods: The study was conducted as a part of the “Quality of Healthcare in Slovenia” project, in agreement with the National Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed and the results evaluated.Results: Arterial hypertension control was relatively high (55.8 %, 95 % CI: 55.1–56.5) in the period 2002–2008 and improved significantly during that period. Based on our statistical model, the improved AH control in year 2006 compared to 2002 is particularly due to lower initial blood pressure values before treatment. Uncontrolled AH was largely attributed to uncontrolled systolic blood pressure. We found positive association between AH control and the frequency of blood pressure control in less than six-month time intervals.Conclusions: According to our results, AH control in family practice in Slovenia is relatively high compared to other European countries, but the results refer only to patients visiting their family medicine physicians.

Background:The purpose of this study was the possibility to follow the progress of labour using electromyographic (EMG) signals obtained from the uterine corpus and the cervix. Methods: 28 healty primiparous women with induced labour at an age from 19 to 29 years were enrolled in the study. For interpretation of EMG signals Sample entropy (SampEn), the measure of time series regularity was used. SampEn values were related to the progress of labour recorded in the partogram. h e main outcome is association between labour progress and values of SampEn. Results: Approaching the childbirth during normally progressing labour, regular activity of uterine corpus muscles and cervical muscles is indicated as a decreasing trend in values of SampEn. A delay in the active phase of labour due to active contractions of cervical circular muscles is indicated in greater values of SampEn calculated from cervical EMG activity. Conclusions: By measuring and processing of EMG signals from the uterine corpus and the cervix an obstetrician can obtain an additional useful information on the progress of labour.

Background. It is possible to evaluate quality characteristics of different aspects of health care by many different measures. For these purposes, in various countries all over the world authorised institutions and/or agencies developed number of methodological accessories, criteria and tools for selection of more or less appropriately and optimally defined criteria and indicators of quality clinical performance.Conclusions. Recently we have started with activities for gradual introduction of systematic monitoring, assessment and improvement of quality of health care in Slovenia as well. One of the key prerequisites for selection of valid, practicable, efficient and reliable quality indicators is the establishment of continuous and methodologically appropriate system of development and implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. We started this process within the framework of national Health Sector Management Project, where all potential key stakeholders from health care sector participated. Also the project on Quality in Health Care in Slovenia, started, leaded and performed by the Medical Chamber of Slovenia, represents one of the important parallel starting steps towards assurance of reliable data on development/establishment of appropriate set of quality indicators and standards of health care in our country.

This article presents a National Perinatal Information System of Slovenia. In addition an example of single quality indicator and the results of published review are provided.Having had good experience with the NPIS, we defined the most important quality indicators for the field of perinatology.

Background. Efforts made by healthcare organisations to ensure a high-quality health care show up as a feature of their efficient operation and business soundness. Namely,high-quality health care is not just a mere word as it cannot be judged on the basis of various certificates, standards and protocols. It is more a relationship between the health care practitioners (doctor, nurse) and purchasers of the health care services (patients, payees). Without a clear quality health care vision, defined in some strategical directives and goals and operationalised and performed in a form of projects,each healthcare organisation or area is foredoomed to failure.Within the Medical Chamber of Slovenia and by pursuing the project named »Quality Healthcare in Slovenia«, we want to ensure uniform databases for as many of medicine specialities and subspecialities as possible. Final goal of the project is ensuring a proper, high-quality health care system providing the quality problems are identified and their causes addressed which would, eventually, lead to proper conditions allowing status determination and continual improvements.Methods. We started our project on September 9, 1999 and finished sampling data for our pilot study in September in 2001. That study was a collaboration of 128 different departments, from 46 areas within 17 hospitals and 7 general practitioners. We started our regular data sampling in the start of 2002. Until December 1, 2002 117 departments from 40 areas within 19 hospitals, 70 general practitioners and 20 dentists took part in the project. Complete system for data sampling and analysis is internet based and was developed considering all security, reliability and ease-of-use factors.Conclusions. Partial analysis of sampled data shows how quality of work of a general practitioner can be layered by using only two indicators.