title: Process quality in the intensive care unit.
abstract: This review describes general principles of quality control and focuses on the issue of process quality in intensive care units. Process quality of a service organisation mostly involves the factors timing and communications. Management tools for improving and enhancing process quality are mainly edition and enforcement of practice guidelines, but also the setting of performance standards and regular audits of process quality by selected indicators. Implementation of these concepts into the practice of Intensive Care is discussed and recommendations are made.
authors.affiliation: Rätisches Kantonsspital, Chur, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frutiger
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D011786:Quality Control; D012308:Risk Management