In 2010, UZ Leuven was the first Flemish hospital that took on the challenge to be assessed by the Joint Commission International (JCI). If a JCI inspection shows that the quality of the hospital complies with the JCI standards, it is awarded an accreditation label. In 2019 UZ Leuven was awarded this prestigious quality label for the next three years.
No fifth JCI audit
Professor Dirk De Ridder, director quality management at UZ Leuven: "The JCI accreditation is valid until 2023. There will however not be a fifth JCI audit. UZ Leuven has decided to get to work with the new Flemish quality model for healthcare organisations, FlaQuM. By 2023 we want this model to be rolled out in the organisation."
The quality model FlaQuM was established in the fold of the Leuvens Instituut voor Gezondheidsbeleid (LIGB) of KU Leuven and provides guidance for healthcare organisations to elaborate their own quality management step by step and together with everyone involved in the organisation, based on their own interpretation of the quality vision.
FlaQuM is closely linked to the UZ Leuven values
"The hospital can give an indication as to how far it has progressed in the implementation. We can also set up our own project plan with objectives and timing,” professor De Ridder explains. “The FlaQuM vision model explicitly falls back on the four care values of care: friendliness and empathy, holistic, partnership, dignified and respectful, which closely matches the mission and values of UZ Leuven. For too long, quality has been regarded as a strictly technical matter. The corona crisis has helped put the question ‘why are we in care?’ back centre stage.”
"The JCI-accreditation is valid until 2023. By then UZ Leuven wants to have FlaQuM rolled out in the organisation. There will be no fifth JCI audit. Employees, patients and their next of kin will be closely involved in setting up the new quality management system of the hospital and in determining the quality objectives."
Prof. dr. Dirk De Ridder, director quality management