Quality management--a challenge for the health care system in Poland.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the origins, initial steps and strategy, current progress and main accomplishments of introducing a quality management culture within the healthcare system in Poland. The following main points will be discussed: A general overview of the national healthcare context with specific emphasis on major structural and functional problems of the system and on the main factors and forces influencing current changes in healthcare in Poland. Suggestion and explanation of why quality management philosophy, methods and tools introduced into the healthcare system may constitute part of a solution for the problem of how to improve healthcare in Poland. A summary of national activities, illustrating how an implementation strategy was put into action, what has happened so far, and the results and perspectives for the future. A conclusion that foreign aid and international collaboration, used in an appropriate and effective way, may constitute a crucial factor in promoting beneficial changes in countries which, like Poland, are currently undergoing dramatic political, economic and cultural transition.