RESULTS OF PROJECT: »QUALITY HEALTHCARE IN SLOVENIA«

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.