Quality Management: The Basis for better Healthcare

An AI tool was used to translate this article from German.

Quality management in the healthcare sector encompasses all strategic, organisational and operational measures aimed at defining, measuring, ensuring and continuously improving the quality of medical, nursing and administrative services. In short, QM designs processes in such a way that patients receive the best possible care. In Switzerland, QM is enshrined in law. Since its revision in 2021, the Health Insurance Act (KVG) has required all service providers – from hospitals to medical practices to long-term care facilities – to implement a documented QM system, including a reporting and learning system, in order to be allowed to bill with compulsory health insurance (OKP – Art. 58d KVV). The aim is to ensure quality in a measurable and sustainable way instead of leaving it to chance.

Core components of quality management

An effective QM system is based on core components that contain the essential elements necessary for a functioning and effective system. Here are some of the key core components:

• Planning: Definition of quality objectives and preparation of plans for the implementation and achievement of these objectives.
• Quality control: Monitoring and measuring the quality of services and processes to comply with the established standards.
• Quality assurance: Implementing measures and procedures to ensure quality, including regular audits and assessments.
• Quality: Continuous analysis and improvement of processes and services through methods such as the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act).
• Risk management: Identification and minimization of risks for the benefit of patient safety.
• Complaint: Systematic recording and handling of complaints in order to learn from mistakes and improve quality.
• Employee participation: Involve all employees in the QM process to leverage their expertise and commitment.

These elements help increase efficiency, increase patient safety, and continuously improve the quality of healthcare.

Reporting systems: A proactive tool for security through transparency

Reporting systems act as early warning systems in the health care system. They are the “eyes and ears” of safety and serve the systematic recording, analysis and communication of adverse events in order to identify potential risks at an early stage, derive preventive measures and strengthen patient safety in the long term. In Switzerland, they are firmly anchored in the legal and institutional structures and make a significant contribution to promoting a transparent safety culture. A selection of relevant reporting systems is presented below, without claiming to be exhaustive.

Relevant reporting systems in Switzerland:

• Infection monitoring: The Epidemics Act (Art. 12 EpA) requires the reporting of infectious diseases to the competent cantonal authorities and to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH); Swissnoso monitors nosocomial infections.
• Critical Incident Reporting System (CIRS): An anonymized system for reporting critical events, such as medication mix-ups or near misses. The Swiss Patient Safety Foundation is committed to its implementation not only in hospitals and outpatient care facilities and promotes its dissemination.
• Pharmacovigilance: Swissmedic records in accordance with the Therapeutic Products Act (Art. 59 para. 3, TPA ) side effects of medicines and vaccines, which may lead to warnings or recalls.
• Materiovigilance: The Medical Devices Ordinance (Art. 66 MedDO) regulates reports of problems in the use of medical devices to the supplier and Swissmedic.
• Hemovigilance: According to the Therapeutic Products Act (Art. 59 para. 3 TPA ), Swissmedic records incidents during blood transfusions in order to ensure the safety of blood products.
• Radiation protection: In accordance with the Radiation Protection Act (Art. 35 StSG), the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) registers incidents with ionising radiation, such as overdoses in medical applications.

How it works and what it means

The recording is usually done digitally, followed by analyses by expert committees and the derivation of concrete measures – from internal training programs to official warnings. Anonymity in the CIRS system promotes an open error and learning culture by lowering the inhibition threshold for reports and enabling learning-oriented processing.

Systemic Interactions: The Synergy of Quality Management and Reporting Systems

QM and reporting systems have a symbiotic relationship. Reporting systems provide empirical data – such as clusters of infections or drug side effects – which serve as a basis for identifying weak points and developing targeted improvement measures in QM. For example, a report of increased infection rates by Swissnoso leads to a revision of hygiene standards in QM – for example, a hospital adapts its processes, for example through stricter disinfection or training. Conversely, the QM system provides the organizational and methodological structures to systematically and sustainably implement these findings and adjustments in practice, the implementation and impact of which are then reviewed.

Since the 2021 revision of the KVG, CIRS has been integrated into the OKP approval (Art. 58d KVV) as a mandatory component of QM, which illustrates the interdependence of the two approaches: Without reporting systems, QM lacks an evidence-based database, and without QM, the processing of reports remains unstructured and ineffective.

Necessity: Security, trust and efficiency

The relevance of QM and reporting systems in Switzerland can be seen in several areas:

• Patient safety: Studies show that over 12% of hospitalizations have preventable adverse events (Vincent & Staines, 2019; Halfon et al., 2017). Systematic approaches reduce these risks.
• Transparency: Public reports by the National Association for Quality Development in Hospitals and Clinics ( ANQ ) and quality indicators strengthen the trust of patients and insurers.
• Efficiency: Avoidable complications cause high costs – QM and reporting systems reduce this burden.
• Legal protection: Compliance with legal requirements protects against liability disputes.

These findings clearly illustrate that reporting systems are much more than just an administrative obligation: they are a crucial lever for improving patient safety, strengthening transparency and optimising the use of resources. Switzerland, with its high quality of health, could set international best practice standards through a nationwide and digitally supported reporting culture.

The role of new-win: Digital reporting systems for quality and safety

Modern, efficient tools are essential for the effective implementation of QM and reporting systems. The Swiss company new-win offers a range of cloud-based software solutions for this purpose, such as H-CIRS, H-FEEDBACK, H-IDEE and H-VIGILANZ, which are equally tailored to the regulatory and practical requirements of the Swiss healthcare system. Each of these solutions contributes in its own specific way to strengthening quality and safety.

• H-CIRS: Enables anonymous, user-friendly reporting of critical events in real time, adapts to the individual size of the healthcare facilities and supports the CIRS obligation according to Art. 58g KVV. for OKP approval.
• H-FEEDBACK: Collects feedback from patients, relatives and employees with ready-made forms (e.g. for radiation protection or customer feedback) for quality improvement.
• H-IDEE: Drives innovation through digital improvement proposals that can be integrated into the PDCA cycle.
• H-VIGILANZ: Secures encrypted vigilance reports to Swissmedic (pharmacovigilance, materiovigilance, haemovigilance) in accordance with the TPA and MPG.

Common features and meaning

All new-win solutions together form a digital ecosystem that links QM and reporting system: collect data, analyze it and implement it in measures. They are GDPR-compliant, adaptable to cantonal differences and can be used on mobile devices thanks to responsive design. These products address the key challenges in all healthcare facilities, regardless of their size: They reduce administrative effort, increase reporting readiness through intuitive operation, and promote a proactive safety and learning culture.

Challenges and future prospects

Despite clear progress, obstacles remain: Switzerland’s federal structure leads to heterogeneous requirements, initial investment in digital systems is substantial, and reporting readiness is hampered by time pressure or legal concerns. This is precisely why new-win solutions offer far-reaching prospects: they increase efficiency, promote transparency and could enable more precise risk detection in the future through AI-supported analyses.

Conclusion

Quality management and reporting systems are indispensable in the Swiss healthcare system to ensure the highest quality of care and patient safety. Their synergy is supported by legal requirements and optimized by new-win’s digital solutions. From error prevention to user integration to promoting innovation, each tool makes a specific contribution. At a time when quality must be measurable and verifiable, these systems are not only a legal obligation, but a strategic necessity to position Switzerland as a pioneer in healthcare.

With new-win as your partner, you benefit from a variety of solutions that both make your daily work easier and contribute to the continuous improvement of patient safety and quality of care.

We look forward to hearing from you! Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or for personal advice. Just give us a call or send us a message – we are here to work with you to find the best solution for your facility!