Improvement in cost-effectiveness and customer satisfaction by a quality management system according to EN ISO 9001:2000.

The implementation of a quality management system (QMS) according to EN ISO 9001:2000 has proven to be possible for cardiac surgery departments. However, it remains unclear if a QMS can help to improve quality as indicated by cost-effectiveness and customer satisfaction. To control costs for medical goods and laboratory investigations an internal control system for the allocation of resources was implemented. Laboratory costs and medical goods per open heart procedure were investigated in the years 2000 to 2003. In terms of customer satisfaction, repeated questionnaire-based evaluation of referring physicians was obtained from 2001 to 2003 and the influence of repeated interventions on various aspects of communications was investigated. Costs of medical goods could be reduced by 6.1%, and for laboratory investigations by 35% per operation. Additionally, customer satisfaction could be increased efficiently with respect to accessibility and postoperative communication. By the introduction of a process based QMS, efficient control of the costs of medical goods and laboratory investigations could be achieved. Once a year repeat evaluation of satisfaction of advising physicians has proven to be a valuable tool in the process of continuous improvement.