QUALITY IN HEALTHCARE: REGULATIONS AND PRACTICE

• Main Authors: Gordana Živčec-Kalan, Janko Kersnik, Igor Švab, Brane Dobnikar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Slovenian Medical Association 2002-12-01
• Series: Zdravniški Vestnik
• Subjects: quality; regulations; legislation; responsibility; monitoring
• Online Access: http://vestnik.szd.si/index.php/ZdravVest/article/view/1658

<p>Background. Quality of physician’s work is getting more and more important element being assessed both by laic and professional world. A profession of physician is certainly one of the most exactly regulated jobs in a legal way. But this fact alone cannot automatically ensure a proper and needed quality. In Slovenia, this is a relatively new element when comparing a steady practice of taking operational directives and algorythms. There is no head organisation or body that would be appointed for adopting regulations from the field, implementing them into practice, controlling their operation and supplementing them accordingly. That leads towards a dispersion, inclusion of many subjects and relatively substantial funding. Unfortunately, outcomes do not match efforts involved. The purpose of this article is to present institutions, legislation and regulations related to the physician work quality in Slovenia.</p><p>Conclusions. Profession of physician is currently the most regulated profession from a legal point of view. Violation of regulations usually has consequences for both physician and patient. By adopting the appropriate criteria, quality can be defined, monitored and improved. Using certain mechanisms, there is a possibility to detect deviations and differences in order to eliminate them.<br /><br /></p>