title: [Quality management in palliative care].
abstract: The author, former chief of a medical department and experienced in quality management, describes the development of quality standards by palliative ch, the Swiss Society for Palliative Care. These standards are the basis for explicit quality-criteria. The performance of an institution for palliative care is evaluated against these criteria, during an audit and peer review. Further information is given concerning the label Quality in Palliative Care. The author describes the importance oft the PDCA-cycle as an instrument for permanent improvement. Institutions with little experience in quality management are adviced to start on a smaller scale and use internal audits. Finally the author gives some thoughts as to the limitations of quality management in palliative care.
authors.affiliation: christoph.cottier@bluewin.ch
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cottier
mesh_terms: D054869:Clinical Audit / Q000592:standards*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000592:standards*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000592:standards; D010380:Peer Review; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000592:standards*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013557:Switzerland; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000592:standards*