title: Regulating Quality and Safety of Health and Social Care: International Experiences.
abstract: This study is concerned with "standards of quality and safety" within health and social care systems. Care standards are intended to support efforts in maintaining and improving the quality of care; they have been developed across countries, although the ways in which they are implemented and applied differs between nations. Taking a range of six countries, we review the regulatory mechanisms that have been implemented to ensure that essential standards of care are applied and are being adhered to, and consider the range of policy instruments used to encourage and ensure continuous quality improvement. We report on Australia, England, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. The study is intended to inform policy thinking for the Department of Health and others in developing the regulation of safety and quality of health and social care in England. It was prepared as part of the project "An 'On-call' Facility for International Healthcare Comparisons" funded by the Department of Health in England through its Policy Research Programme.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schweppenstedde
authors.forename: Saba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinrichs
authors.forename: Uzor
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ogbu
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Dionne S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kringos
authors.forename: Niek S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Klazinga
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: Lauri
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vuorenkoski
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Busse
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guerin
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pitchforth
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nolte