The EFQM excellence model: European and Dutch experiences with the EFQM approach in health care

One way to meet the challenges in creating a high performance organization in health care is the approach of the European Foundation for Quality Manag ement (EFQM). The Foundation is in the tradition of the American Malcolm Ba ldrige Award and was initiated Lv the European Commission and 14 European m ulti-national organizations in 1988. The essence of the approach is the EFQ M Model, which can be used as a self-assessment instrument on all levels of a health care organization and as an auditing instrument for the Quality A ward. In 1999 the EFQM Model was revised but its principles remained the sa me. In The Netherlands many health care organizations apply the EFQM Model. In addition to improvement projects, peer review of professional practices, ac creditation and certification, the EFQM Approach is used mainly as a framew ork for quality management and as a conceptualization for organizational ex cellence. The Dutch National Institute for Quality, the Instituut Nederland se Kwaliteit, delivers training and supports self-assessment and runs the D utch quality award programme. Two specific guidelines for health care organ izations, 'Positioning and Improving' and 'Self-Assessment', have been deve loped and are used frequently To illustrate the EFQM approach in The Nether lands, the improvement project of the Jellinek Centre is described. The Jel linek Centre conducted internal and external assessments and received in 19 96, as the first health care organization, the Dutch Quality Prize.