The RAF method for regulation, assessment, follow-up and continuous improvement of quality of care: implementation in regulatory systems of government services and care facilities.

The RAF method for regulation, assessment, follow-up and continuous improvement of quality of care was developed in Israel in the late 1980s by the Quality of Care Unit at the JDC-Brookdale Institute. The goal of the RAF method is to continuously increase the level of quality of organizations providing any kind of a service. This article presents the developmental processes for the method's adaptation to a specific regulatory service--its structuring, implementation and assimilation--based on our experience in developing and implementing the RAF method in Israel. It describes how the RAF method encourages the development of reliable data bases, adaptation of the organizational structure, and introduction of a positive ideology that together promote changes leading to continuous improvement in quality of care.