The Chilean legacies in health care quality.

OBJECTIVE The Chilean quality assurance (QA) program evaluation took place in July 1999, at the request of the Chilean Ministry of Health. The main objectives of the evaluation were to identify key aspects of the 8-year-old Chilean QA program that could be considered by other countries and to make strategic recommendations. SETTING In 1991, the Ministry of Health of Chile launched a national QA program. A national-level team initiated countrywide training of health care providers in QA skills, the development of quality committees at facility levels to direct local quality improvement activities, and training of quality monitors to provide technical support for training and quality improvement activities. DESIGN The evaluation team, consisting of two international consultants and a regional consultant from the Costa Rican Ministry of Health, visited six regions and seven health 'servicios' (geographically defined administrative units within a region). The regions and servicios were purposefully chosen to represent different geographic areas, types of facilities, and levels of performance of QA activities. The evaluation was based on a framework developed and applied by the Quality Assurance Project (Center for Human Services, USA). Group and individual interviews with staff complemented document and record reviews. RESULTS The evaluation team found that Chile's QA program had been successful in achieving sustainability and institutionalization. Factors contributing to this success included the enabling environment, management and leadership, technical functions, and support functions. CONCLUSION The Chilean QA program constitutes an interesting experience for consideration by other countries. Key features include its sustainability, nationwide coverage, decentralization, and alliance of quality improvement and regulation. Training results are impressive: almost 20% of Ministry of Health personnel received training, and 19 training modules are in use. Coaches are active and technically sustaining quality assurance activities nationwide.