Draft regulation on healthcare quality indicators with another negative review

The Presidium of the NRL highlighted several key problems with the draft regulation. First of all, numerous inconsistencies in the document's appendices were highlighted. It was pointed out that many medical facilities have not previously monitored quality indicators, which means that the implementation of such an extensive set of new requirements will require significant changes in the functioning and organizational culture of these entities.

The number of indicators introduced - 50 - is also a significant problem, and the Presidium of the NRL believes that the number is too high and has not been properly prioritized. Such an approach makes it difficult to optimize quality management in medical facilities, which in practice can lead to complications in their daily operation.

Indication of needed changes

In its opinion, the NRL presidium stressed the need to standardize the names and definitions of indicators to make them clearer and more understandable to doctors. It also suggested specific changes to the annexes to the regulation to eliminate ambiguities and adapt the indicators to the realities of the operation of medical facilities, I the abandonment of the mandatory completion of questionnaires by patients.

Shortfalls and need for additional indicators

The Presidium of the NRL also noted that the draft regulation lacks consumer indicators for outpatient care, which are a key element in assessing the quality of medical services in developed countries. These indicators should include, among others, the effectiveness of the process of getting patients on waiting lists, the involvement of medical staff, communication with the patient, and the patient's propensity to recommend a provider, with the calculation of the Net Promoter Score (NPS).

In addition, clinical indicators for outpatient care, which are widely used in many European countries and are designed to assess the quality of medical procedures, were completely ignored.

Doubts about management indicators

The Presidium of the NRL also expressed concern that certain management indicators could lead to a deterioration in the quality of health care. It was pointed out that indicators for average numbers of services may encourage shorter, less comprehensive services, which, without proper substantive evaluation, could jeopardize quality and patient safety.

Appeal for review and expert support

Finally, the presidium of the NRL stressed that the current form of the draft regulation does not meet the requirements under the law and the standards of the European Union and OECD countries. Therefore, the presidium sees the need to revise the list of indicators, their definitions and the selection of priority indicators that will realistically contribute to improving the quality of health care.

At the same time, the Presidium of the NRL declared its readiness to support the process of developing more appropriate indicators through dialogue and assistance from experts of the Supreme Medical Council.

The regulation, in its current form, has been assessed as insufficient to bring real benefits to Poland's health care system, and the introduction of the proposed changes is crucial to its effectiveness.

Source: NIL