Chapter 14 - The Organisation of Services and Quality Assurance in Fertility Practice

Summary

This chapter seeks to give an overview of the place of Quality Management (QM) in contemporary fertility practice. It provides the reader with an understanding of the terminology used in QM and explores the definition of quality and success in fertility care. An examination of process modelling in the organisation of services is outlined and an analysis in practical terms as to how QM is applied in practice is provided, covering key issues such as document control, organisational structure and the role of the quality manager. Audit as a tool for improving quality is a fundamental tool and its use within a clinical governance framework including risk management/assessment, and other key responsibilities is detailed. Measuring what we do, analysing performance and setting targets to improve should be fundamental to how we approach our work in contemporary clinical practice.