Volume 5 · Issue 12 · December 2000

Contents

Page 24...

Healthcare Registrations May Be Aided by ISO Agreement

The ISO TMB has approved a January 18-19, 2001, workshop to build consensus around a guidance document for the application of ISO 9004:2000 to healthcare service providers. Stewart Anderson writes that the arrival of ISO 9001:2000, which will be easier for service organizations to implement, and ISO 9004:2000, which provides the guidelines for a comprehensive QMS, should address the difficulties healthcare service providers face with QMS implementation and registration. He examines the ITA and four major groups in the healthcare sector that are seeking advantages from the implementation of ISO 9004:2000-based QMSs, and he presents detailed data on registration trends in the sector. As cost burdens increase, Anderson emphasizes that caregivers are under increasing pressure to provide more consistent and cost-effective delivery of healthcare services. Implementing an effective QMS is one way that caregivers can manage the quality and costs of healthcare service provision.