Workshop develops draft guidelines for ISO 9000 in healthcare sector

2001-01-25

Experts participating in a two-day workshop have developed a draft set of ISO 9000-based performance improvement guidelines for the healthcare sector. If approved, the guidelines will represent the first industry technical agreement (ITA) developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

DETROIT - People around the world rely on physicians, nurses and many other health professionals to treat their ailments and promote their health and well being. Issues of quality improvement and customer satisfaction have become increasingly prominent with health services becoming more complex and costly and patients and providers alike looking at ways and means to improve the performance in health services delivery. The development of a new performance improvement document to meet these issues was endorsed at a recent International Organization for Standardization (ISO) workshop held in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

The workshop, sponsored by Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA) attracted 135 health professionals representing 20 countries and including health service providers, consultants, accrediting bodies, health care associations, government representatives and third-party payers. The workshop deliberated and enhanced a draft of a health care-specific document based on ISO 9004:2000 -"Quality management systems - Guidelines for performance improvements". The draft, prepared by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Health Care Division and the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), incorporates specific guidance on the application of ISO 9004:2000 to the healthcare sector.

The ISO workshop - the first of its kind - had the objective of developing the first ISO Industry Technical Agreement (ITA 1) - an international agreement among health service experts on sector-specific guidance to ISO 9004:2000. The use of the document is voluntary and is not intended for certification or accreditation.

By the end of the two-day interactive workshop, there was consensus support to proceed with the development of ITA 1. Participants agreed to the integration of the consensus achieved in Task Groups at the workshop into a final revised document, followed by a further 60-day consultation and vote.

Following approval, the document will be submitted to ISO for publication, anticipated in mid-2001.

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