The EFQM Model as a framework for total quality management in healthcare
基于荷兰医院1995-2011年五次全国调查数据，研究EFQM模型能否作为医疗全面质量管理的框架，发现应用该模型能提升医院绩效并形成持续改进循环。
Purpose – To guide organizations toward total quality management (TQM), various models have been developed such as the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM Model). The purpose of this paper is to conduct a longitudinal investigation of whether the EFQM Model can serve as a framework for TQM in healthcare. Design/methodology/approach – Data on a national representative survey about quality management (QM) in the hospital population in the Netherlands were used to conduct this study. The survey had five measurement points between 1995 and 2011. Findings – The results of the study show that applying the EFQM Model in hospitals is related to improvement in organizational performance over time, a feedback loop in which hospitals use their results to further improve their organizational processes is established, and improvement is stronger when all the model’s elements are considered simultaneously. Practical implications – The results of the study can be applied by quality managers of healthcare institutions to achieve higher quality of care. Originality/value – Previous research on the relationship between the EFQM excellence model and TQM neglects two essential characteristics of the TQM philosophy, namely, the holistic perspective on QM and the presumed feedback loop of organizational performance that feeds a cycle of continuous quality improvement. The study provides new insights into the long-term benefits of applying the EFQM Model as a framework for TQM in healthcare.