MONITORING THE QUALITY OF SERVICES IN MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA IN A UNIVERSITY PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

Abstract

Total quality is an attitude, an orientation that permeates an entire organization, and the way that an organization performs internal and external business (Claflin et at, 1998).

Those pursuing quality assurance in health care have noticed the success of quality management approaches employed by industry. Dr. Avedis Donabedian raised the issue of adopting the industrial quality assurance models into health care. Many projects began to assess the quality of care using system analysis and facility assessment (El-Teheawy, 1997).

Quality in health care is concerned with doing the right things right consistently to ensure; the best possible clinical outcomes for patients, the satisfaction for all customers, the retention of the talented staff, and a sound financial performance (MacAulay, 1997).

Quality of care is defined as "the level of petformance or accomplishment that characterizes the health care provided" (Brugha & Lindsay, 2001).