Managing quality in occupational health, part 2

Part 2: putting quality management into practice

Summary:

In the second and final part of his series on managing quality, occupational physician Paul Nicholson examines how OH services can put quality management into practice..

The first article in this series provided readers with an understanding of quality management and explained why it has become an essential part of modern occupational health (OH) practice. This concluding part intends to provide readers with an iterative and practical approach to implementing or improving their own quality management system (QMS). Exactly how you manage implementation or improvement will depend on the context of your OH service and requires careful consideration. Much like buying clothing, an off-the-shelf product will suffice in many cases, alterations may be appropriate in others, and sometimes a bespoke solution is required…

 

Dr Paul Nicholson is an occupational physician, past president of the Society of Occupational Medicine and past chair of the BMA Occupational Medicine Committee. He was the Faculty of Occupational Medicine’s clinical lead responsible for developing the SEQOHS standards and accreditation scheme, and was part of the global team that owned Procter & Gamble’s Health Systems Key Elements, and trained and calibrated auditors.

Author: Nicholson P

Tags professional practice quality

Occupational Health at Work February/March 2019 (vol. 15/5) pp31-35

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