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Greek gynecology healthcare professionals towards quality management systems

Konstantinos Dinas (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Eleftherios Vavoulidis (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Georgios Chrysostomos Pratilas (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Alexandros Basonidis (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Anastasios Liberis (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Leonidas Zepiridis (1st Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Papageorgiou General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Alexandros Sotiriadis (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Dimitra Papaevangeliou (Hellenic Accreditation System, Athens, Greece)
Aliki Stathopoulou (Hellenic Accreditation System, Athens, Greece)
Eirini Leimoni (Quality Management and Data Protection, Affidea Greece, Athens, Greece)
Konstantinos Pantazis (2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece) (Thessaloniki Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Konstantinos Tziomalos (Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)
Vassilis Aletras (Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)
George Tsiotras (Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance

ISSN: 0952-6862

Article publication date: 11 February 2019

Issue publication date: 11 February 2019

208

Abstract

Purpose

Today, quality management systems (QMS) are a promising candidate for the improvement of healthcare services. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the opinions/attitudes of gynecology healthcare professionals toward quality and quality management in healthcare facilities (HFs) in Greece.

Design/methodology/approach

An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was distributed to healthcare professionals, asking for opinions on quality objectives associated with the everyday workflow in HFs (e.g. management of patients, resources, etc.) and on QMS. The study was conducted in Hippokration Hospital of Thessaloniki, including 187 participants. Statistical assessment and analysis of the questionnaires were carried out.

Findings

Although 87.5 percent recognized the importance of potential QMS implementation and accreditation, over 50 percent believed that it would lead rather to increased workload and bureaucracy than to any considerable quality improvement. More than 60 percent were completely unaware of the implementation of quality objectives such as quality handbook, quality policy, audit meetings and accreditation status in their HFs. This unawareness was also reported in terms of patient, data, human and general resources management. Finally, awareness over medical malpractice and positive attitude toward official reporting were detected.

Originality/value

Most respondents acknowledged the significance of quality, QMS implementation and accreditation in Greek hospitals. However, there was a critical gap in knowledge about quality management objectives/processes that could be possibly resolved by expert teams and well-organized educational programs aiming to educate personnel regarding the various quality objectives in Greek HFs.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the hospital personnel and all the other healthcare professionals who participated in this study.

Citation

Dinas, K., Vavoulidis, E., Pratilas, G.C., Basonidis, A., Liberis, A., Zepiridis, L., Sotiriadis, A., Papaevangeliou, D., Stathopoulou, A., Leimoni, E., Pantazis, K., Tziomalos, K., Aletras, V. and Tsiotras, G. (2019), "Greek gynecology healthcare professionals towards quality management systems", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 164-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-05-2017-0083

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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