The First National Conference on Quality in Healthcare 1995 The First National Conference on Quality in Health Care was held on November 26-28, 1995. Prof. Dr. Ali Abdel Fatah Minister of Health at that time and Dr. Hassan EL_Kalla Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health opened the conference. The conference is considered to be a leading effort by the Ministry of Health to improve the quality of healthcare in Egypt. For achieving the aim, the conference laid stress on increasing the public awareness on Quality Management concept which is considered to be the cornerstone in improving the clinical performance to meet the community needs and expectation. Specialized committees started the 1
2 الجمعية المصرية لجودة الرعاية الصحية conference arrangements two years before, corresponding to the increasing demand in quality service among Egyptians. 762 participants attended the conference among them were 729 Egyptian health professionals, community leaders, heads of professional organizations and representatives of pharmaceutical companies. Avedis Donabedian and 33 experts from Arab and Foreign countries participated in the conference by presenting their experience that enriched discussions and enhanced the exchange of experience. Conference Objectives:- 1. To explain of Quality Management (Q.M) in healthcare and how to build institutions based on these concepts. 2. To exchange experience and knowledge with other countries that apply QM in healthcare. 3. To review the methodology of implementing QM in hospitals and other health care institutions. 4. To disseminate information and experience produced by Cost Recovery for Health Project & Quality Assurance Project.
5. To encourage Egyptian researcher to introduce their papers and share their experience in the field QM in healthcare. Conference Organizers:- Cost Recovery for Health Project CRHP (US AID Project # 263 0170 ). Quality Assurance Project QAP (US AID Project # DPE 5992 A 0050 00). The Egyptian Society for Quality in Health Care ESQua. 3
Prof. Dr. Ali Abdel Fatah Minister of Health and Dr. Hassan EL_Kalla Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health 4
Prof. Dr. Ali Abdel- Fatah Minister of Health with Prof. Avedis Donabedian 5
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Conference Declaration In their recommendations, conference participants urged professionals not only to introduce quality practice and implement its principles in Healthcare, but also to lay Quality foundations in every aspect that impacts the lives of Egyptians, i.e., education, mass communication, and industry. The First National Conference on Quality in Healthcare concluded with the following recommendations. 1- Develop a National Health Education / Awareness Program for professionals and non-professionals; young and adults focusing on Quality in Healthcare. Mass media, educational and cultural institutions should play a leading role in implementing this National Awareness Program. 2- Improve the Quality of education system with emphasis on education of health professionals. 3- Re-engineer both economic and administrative systems that govern public healthcare organizations, aiming at improving management and incentive systems. Such improvements would foster involvement of healthcare professionals in Quality Management (QM) programs. 7
4- Design continuous training programs aiming at improving QM technical skills of health care providers. 5- The Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are to adopt a National Quality Awareness Program, in collaboration with Mass Media, The Ministry of Health (MOH), and other organizations. 6- It is the responsibility of MOH, in collaboration with the Egyptian Medical Societies and ESQua, to develop applicable Quality standards, that are continuously updated to meet customer expectations. 7- MOH, in collaboration with ESQua, will adopt developing a comprehensive system to assess and review the quality of service on both the national level (Macro) and the institutional level (Micro). 8- Design a system to measure customer satisfaction and to help identifying customer needs and expectations on health services in local communities. 8
9- Support MOH in its pursuit to establish a National Organization for Health Constructions. Such organization will be authorized to regulate the construction of health facilities based on quality design concepts that serve in providing quality health service. 10- Establish institutions specialized in the Quality of bio-medical equipment and their maintenance to guarantee the quality of service provided. 11- Strengthen the role of statistics in the field of medical services by developing a National Data Base that serves in applying TQM in healthcare. 12- Organize planning workshops for developing curricula by medical syndicates, scientific societies, and universities aiming at adopting quality concepts. 9
13- Improving the financial, social and working environment standards for health care professionals to increase their involvement in Primary Healthcare fields. 14- Expand Healthcare coverage through various health insurance systems to ensure that every individual receives the minimum of healthcare. Individuals should have the right to choose the proper coverage, based on the quality of the services provided. 15- Develop a plan for mobilizing concerned parties / individuals / organizations to tackle the obstacles of health care services. A planning workshop should be organized to address such issues as environmental obstacles, nutritional deficiencies, social services, management and financial systems, and mass media restraints. 16- Establish Health Insurance Organizations (HIOs) in order to provide quality services in a competitive environment. A distinct separation between the role of service providers and payers should be defined. 10
17- Emphasize the role of Health Economics researches and promote benefit from the outcome of these studies in future planning and decision making process. 18- Focus on the Vertical Development of existing health care organizations aiming at Continuous Quality Improvement. 19- Issue legislation(s) that secures patients rights, and establishes organizations that advocate for customer s rights. 11