EAHM

Results of the Study on Patient Satisfaction Measures

The short study of the General Secretariat of the EAHM of November 2006 (see Hospital 1/2007) has been processed.

Reminder: the members of the EAHM office were invited to respond to questions such as, for example, the existence of legal depositions in relation to the evaluation of patient satisfaction and the publication of eventual results, and additionally the real efficiency of such a study.

The data from ten member states were collected on the following points:

• In your country are there legally binding inquests into the evaluation of patient satisfaction?

• In such a case, are the results communicated to the health professions or to the public?

• Are the studies of patient satisfaction part of a series of measures to improve the quality of the health services?

• Do the results of the studies contribute to an improvement in health services?

To summarize, the following results have been established:

1. In seven of the ten countries, a study on patient satisfaction is not required by law.

2. In all countries, studies on patient satisfaction are part of quality management and are considered to be important in this domain.

3. In relation to the publication of results of the study, this happens in five of the countries. In three countries, the publication of results of studies is limited to the hospital. In two countries, there is no obligation to publish the results.

Comparative information is not made available or only with the hospital or hospital group.

4. All countries support the idea of a study to measure patient satisfaction which underlines the Importance of information and the opinion of the patient, and indicates that the health professionals can use this kind of information.

5. Finally, in response to the question of the potential improvement in care, one can say that in nearly every country and on a regular basis, the results are used to modify the existing structures of the hospital landscape and thereby their results. In this regard, one must underline the response of Greece, who made available the results of a study on the subject: analyses of 2000- 2001 showed that 75% of Greek hospitals did not react to results of such studies. If the measures had been taken, they concerned parking places, hygiene, and changes in hospital food.

The details of responses can be consulted on the EAHM site.

World Health Care Congress – Presentation by Heinz Kölking, Vice- President of the EAHM

Once again this year, the EAHM continued its cooperation with the World Health Care Congress, which took place from 26 to 28 March in Barcelona (Spain).

The presence of the EAHM was reinforced at Summit 3, “Paying for Performance”. Heinz Kölking (Germany), Vice-President of the EAHM, was one of the four speakers and delivered an excellent presentation on the theme of “Promoting Entrepreneurship in European Hospitals”.

Some extracts: “There is no doubt that the hospitals of today and tomorrow will occupy a special position in the health economy. The importance of hospitals assume multiple facettes. That is why, in view of the installation of an efficient healthcare structure, future strategies of the hospitals themselves must be carefully studied. Hospitals in the past have often been ‘managed’. We need, in order to face the future and the modification of existing conditions, a completely different form of management for hospital structures and procedure. We must also possess competent managerial staff with regard to the specific characteristics of hospitals concerning structure and services. Due to changes in our society and major evolutions, such as medical progress and an aging population, it is clear that we must develop new ways, especially in healthcare.

1. Society and the economy require healthcare which evolves, but which is always effective and efficient, in the larger sense.

2. Services determine the economic development and the work market of the future.

3. Evolution can only take place if we develop efficient structures and procedures of good quality.

4. The ‘tertiary sector’ does not need to be on the defensive and it is necessary to clarify the fact in addition to quality, efficiency and effectiveness, we are there for people and can give them support, and therefore assume a real role in the society of the future.

5. Hospitals must play a crucial role in the development of an economic health network. This depends on an active conception of structures, procedures and results in the sense of a ‘spirit of enterprise’.

Finally, the perspective is not so gloomy for hospitals, and it is on that note that I would like to finish. In fact, all this assumes a lot of openness of spirit and optimism. Let my words encourage you!”

Preparations for the ‘Accreditation of Health Establishments in Europe’ Seminar

On 16 November 2007 in Düsseldorf

Preparations for the seminar on the theme of accreditation of health establishments are well underway. The Secretariat, as well as the scientific committee, under the presidency of Asger Hansen (Denmark) consulted numerous experts and followed it up assiduously in order to ensure the quality of the content.

The objective of the seminar is to let the experts debate the question of the development of a model of European accreditation on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, an overview of systems of accreditation which already exist in Europe will be outlined, including a comparison with other external quality evaluation methods such as the EFQM (‘European Foundation for Quality Management’).

At the end of the seminar, the experts in accreditation will compare the content of different standards and indicators and, under the aegis of the EAHM, will submit a model for European accreditation.

For more details on the programme and the methods of inscription, we recommend that you consult the EAHM site (www.aedh.eu.org).