Our patients and their families

The quality management system involves the definition and implementation of an annual quality plan, which includes defined targets, monitoring of KPIs, the development of projects, process reengineering, integration within the company’s activities, and training that culminate in internal and external audits, obtaining certifications and accreditations from recognized external bodies.

We focus on three areas:

• Safety and adequacy of clinical practice
• Patient experience
• Excellence and quality in the provision of services

Safety and adequacy of clinical practice

Safety and appropriateness of treatment are critical to ensuring that we offer our patients the best possible service. In line with our commitment to excellence in medical care, clinical health and safety represent a fundamental pillar of our approach, which includes:

Our patient safety strategy

We have developed a patient safety strategy, which we regularly review and adjust as necessary, to ensure high-quality care in our hospitals and to guarantee patient safety. This strategy covers all areas that have a direct impact on patient safety, and incorporates new approaches adapted to specific and innovative care processes.

The action lines included in the plan are implemented in the Quirónsalud centers through different methodologies, such as the inclusion of safety and adequacy of clinical practice in the annual management objectives, which contributes to the alignment with the company’s policies and procedures.

During 2023, a total of 19 patient safety standards, e.g., referring to safe surgery, and medication safety, were defined as part of the annual quality plan. Further, we developed and updated corporate protocols aiming to continue improvement in the prevention of harm to patients and to align Quirónsalud practices with the latest recommendations from recognized external bodies. In addition, we continue to work on the integration of the patient safety culture among our employees.

Patient safety incident reporting

We systematically record patient safety incidents, as these are a good measure of the level of safety culture in a facility. The reporting of incidents demonstrates the commitment of our professionals and their striving for the best possible care. A high reporting rate is typical of safe and reliable organizations.

From our incident reporting system, lessons are learned, and process improvements are made. The most relevant best practices and improvements are shared with all the company’s centers, multiplying their potential improvement impact exponentially.

The prompt processing of reported cases is important in order to ensure a high level of patient safety. On average, cases are processed within 19 days and are closed after 26 days.

Measuring clinical practice quality

In 2023, we continued to deepen the analysis of casuistry in our hospitals through the information contained in the Minimum Basic Data Set (MBDS). Casuistry is the study of cases treated in order to draw conclusions about disease progression for future treatment. We monitor the indicators on a monthly basis to improve our processes.

Patient experience

We want to improve patient care by putting patients, their needs, and their expectations at the center of all our strategies and actions, adding an additional value, which is human-to-human health. To this end, we take a comprehensive view of the patient experience, adopting a personalized, innovative, and patient-centric medical approach of the highest quality. Improving the patient experience has become a top priority for Quirónsalud, and we want to become the benchmark in this area.

Feedback from our patients and their families helps us to improve

To respond to the needs and expectations of our patients and their families, we carry out frequent satisfaction evaluations and have a solid system for the management of suggestions, complaints, and claims.

We regularly survey the patients who have been treated as inpatients, outpatients, or in emergencies. 48 hours after a hospital stay, an email is sent to patients asking if they would recommend the hospital and its services. For each area of care, we conducted an comprehensive analysis of the patient journey in order to evaluate step by step the patient’s experience at each stage of the process. This allows each hospital to identify the points that receive the best ratings, as well as those that receive the worst, in order to intervene accordingly.

The results are transferred into the Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Based on our 2023 result, we have set the target of achieving an NPS of 65 in 2024.

Claims, complaints, and suggestions submitted by patients are another valuable source of information on their perception of and satisfaction with the care received. They represent an opportunity to identify areas for improvement in services and act as a potential loyalty tool, since appropriate management of claims, complaints, and suggestions has a greater impact on patient satisfaction and loyalty than other measures for improving perceived quality. We respond to the majority of claims and complaints in less than 15 calendar days.

Ensuring high-quality treatments

Quirónsalud’s management system is based on the most demanding standards of quality, patient safety, and environmental and energy management, the principles of which are as follows:

• A common strategy based on experience and patient safety.
• Transparency, contributing to the understanding and reliability of the results.
• Benchmarking of information, projects, and results to promote the continuous improvement of hospitals, central services, and Group companies.
• The involvement and participation of all professionals in the management system.

We assess further key figures that helps us monitor the quality of treatment. For example, each inpatient hospital treatment (inpatient case) is evaluated on the basis of comparative data, with national benchmarks being used for comparison. On a monthly basis, we monitor the adjusted indicators of mortality, complications, substitution rate, and adjusted average length of stay. The goal is to be better than the average in the respective indication.

Constant training for excellence

Continuous training is an important part of our work at Quirónsalud to ensure that we as a team are constantly expanding our knowledge and skills. Training courses cover basic information such as the implementation of hygiene regulations and communication with patients, as well as training on patient safety and more role-specific topics.

For specific information about employee development, have a look at the Employee development & well-being chapter.