Implementation of the quality management system ISO/CD2 9001-2000 in a radiology department.

Quality assurance in health care, a relatively new discipline, has develope d rapidly over the-last years and is now required by law. The Quality Manag ement System (QMS) ISO 9001 aims at the definition of requirements :necessa ry in order to achieve perfect products and continuous quality improvement. Implementation of this QMS necessitates the analysis and written documenta tion of all working processes and modes of operation. Furthermore, potentia l improvement possibilities are defined to guarantee highly qualified, gene rally applicable and standardised procedures. Time-consuming data assessmen t is an instrument to enable disclosure and analysis of existing errors as well as to show possibilities of optimization, thus forming the basis for c ontinuous improvement. The new ISO NORM 9001-2000 is process-orientated wit h an organisational structure strongly recommendable for service institutio ns and therefore also for a department of radiology.