Hospitals that join Rede D’or become safer for the patient

The Engineering Quality Program accelerates the improvement of acquired units

In its 25-year history, Rede D’Or has become the company that invests the most in the construction, acquisition and expansion of private hospitals and beds in Brazil: it owns 70 hospitals and 3 it manages. To offer the same standard of safety in all of them, the institution has created the largest technical quality program for private healthcare institutions in the country.

The initiative accelerates the improvement of the quality of the hospitals acquired by the group, ensuring that they quickly reach quality standards comparable to the main hospitals in the country (see infographic).

The result goes beyond quality indicators and also involves the accreditation of these hospitals by independent institutions, such as Joint Commission International (JCI), QMentum, Niaho and National Accreditation Organization (ONA) methodologies.

The recognition is also public, through awards such as the Best Hospitals in the World (awarded by the North American magazine Newsweek), and the UTIs Brasileiras program with the UTI Top Performer seal, offered by the Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira (AMIB) and Epimed Solutions.

large-scale quality

When a hospital is acquired by Rede D’Or, it undergoes a series of upgrades to complement the company’s engineering quality program. The first step is to carry out a complete mapping of processes, risks and indicators. For example, the physical structure of the hospital, the characteristics of the care team, the needs of the patients at that location, among others, are evaluated.

When the need for improvement is identified, an action plan is drawn up involving the entire hospital team. The corporate quality team and medical and nursing leaders drive this plan. “We constantly monitor the hospitals with audits and technical visits”, explains Helidea Lima, Corporate Quality Director of Rede D’Or.

Because it has many hospitals, Rede D’Or is organized as a collective intelligence: what works in one department is constantly shared with the others. This accelerates individual improvements. The success stories are recorded in the Rede D’Or Handbook of Care Practices, written with the collaboration of professionals from all over Brazil.

The monitoring of the indicators of each hospital feeds into a national database. 24 indicators for adult patients and 26 indicators for the mother-child line are monitored. The results are compared with public databases. One of these bases is the National Association of Private Hospitals (Anahp), which brings together the main private hospitals in the country. Another is provided by Amib and Epimed, which monitor the performance of intensive care units.

national results

In 2021, Rede D’Or acquired the Nossa Senhora das Neves Hospital (HNSN), in João Pessoa (PB). Of high complexity, it is recognized as a center for liver, kidney, heart and bone marrow transplantation. In the year following the acquisition, the Paraíba hospital obtained JCI accreditation, which recognizes the best hospitals in the world. Between February 2022 and January 2023, the achievement rate for hospital indicators increased from 31% to 94%.

“Our numbers show that, in addition to saving more lives, we do it in a timely manner and with the best financial management,” emphasizes Paulo Gottardo, adult ICU medical coordinator at HNSN.

Another example of improvement is the Aviccena Hospital, in San Paolo (SP), acquired in 2019. The physical structure of the unit did not comply with the regulations and had to be retrofitted. A new Intensive Care wing was built and the Surgical Center was completely renovated. With these measures – added to investments in technology and process adjustments – the hospital obtained two accreditations in two and a half years. Today it is accredited with excellence by the National Accreditation Organization (ONA).

For Flávio Sakae, regional executive director of Rede D’or, the accreditation was the result of investments and top management skills, which committed the entire team to applying the Rede D’Or quality model. “This synergy was what made it possible to achieve daring goals in such a short time,” he considers.

More than 3,000km from São Paulo, another hospital also obtained two ONA accreditations, this time within a period of 1 year and 7 months. One of the largest private liver transplant centers in Brazil, São Carlos Hospital, in Fortaleza (CE), is now fully accredited and has the ICU Top Performer seal, awarded only to the best intensive care units in Brazil. Comparing the data of 2021 and 2022, out of a total of 20 technical quality indicators evaluated, there was an improvement of 13 indicators (65%).

“Our protocols existed, but they were monitored in isolation. With the integration into Rede D’Or and the arrival of managers to monitor each business unit and draw up an action plan, we evolved very quickly towards achieving first certification,” celebrates Wilson Meireles, medical director.

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.