Systems for quality improvement in general practice : a survey of 26 countries

Implementing systems for measuring and improving quality is seen as one of the most important challenges in general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) today. This includes activities such as setting and implementing guidelines and criteria, collecting and assessing data on the quality of care, improving and changing practice when needed, developing laws and policies for quality improvement, and providing training for care providers on quality improvement concepts and methods. These activities should be well planned and organised and the structures and conditions should be available to support the implementation of quality improvement.