Rheuma SPACE - Standard Practice Aiming Clinical Excellence: description of the methodological approach.

This article details the methodology that was applied. METHODOLOGY: This was a single country, three-phase project, each phase comprising multiple steps. The first step defined quality indicators and the excellence quality model to be used. It involved a literature search for international benchmarking of quality of care initiatives and indicators, followed by a pre-selection of an initial set of indicators. The set of indicators was latter on narrowed after an online Delphi round with all Portuguese rheumatologists and two consensus meetings involving the study task force. A set of 26 quality indicators was defined, within the three classic Donabedian dimensions of healthcare quality: Structure (9), Processes (11), and Outcomes (6). These indicators cover eleven domains of quality of care: personnel and organizational structure, training and research, facilities, equipment and information technology, budgeting and financial resources, access to care, clinical records, patient communication, multidisciplinary management, clinical outcomes, and patient and personnel satisfaction. Decision on quality and excellence thresholds for each of the 26 quality indicators was agreed upon a consensus meeting gathering principal investigators of the eight Rheumatology Departments that decided to participate, task force core set members and invited representatives of all Portuguese Departments/Units. Rheumatoid arthritis was the chosen disease model of the project based on the reli...
Source: Acta Reumatologica Portuguesa - Category: Rheumatology Authors: Tags: Acta Reumatol Port Source Type: research