Thursday, December 23, 2021
Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases, was presented with the prestigious Australian Council for Healthcare Standards (ACHS) Global Quality Improvement Award at a virtual ceremony held on Thursday 25 November. The award was given for the organization’s successful implementation of an electronic auditing program across 290 of its dialysis clinics in 10 markets across Asia Pacific. Called ‘WeAudit’, the electronic auditing program, consisting of a web-based database and application (app), have led to ongoing improvements to safety and services for patients and staff in the region.
The ACHS Global Quality Improvement Award recognizes organizations that use Australian healthcare standards to strengthen quality improvement frameworks internationally. This year, there were two joint winners of the award: Fresenius Medical Care Asia Pacific for their WeAudit program, and Hong Kong Baptist Hospital for their COVID-19 response submission.
Following the success of a 3-month pilot program in Singapore, the WeAudit program was initiated in further nine markets over a 2-year period, where it has replaced time- and labor-intensive manual quality audits with electronic audits that are undertaken and uploaded from a hand-held device.
Using the new program, each dialysis clinic in the region is provided with a hand-held tablet where the WeAudit app is downloaded. The app is then used to upload audit tools from the WeAudit database. Once uploaded to the app on the tablet, a credentialed staff member undertakes the audit on the device, with every dialysis center completing their audit simultaneously. The content created through the app audits is fed back into the database, which converts the data into reports and graphs, depicting the compliance achievements for each clinic. The program drives compliance and quality, as standards are monitored at every clinic for every activity audited.
The project has allowed service gaps to be identified while monitoring compliance and improving the quality of care for patients. Designed to meet the specific needs of individual markets and with multi-language support, WeAudit allows data to be more accessible, accurate, and timely.
The program goes beyond simple auditing functions, providing the opportunity for data to be used for strategic planning, guiding business objectives such as appropriate healthcare and financial planning to priority areas. It has also recognized areas of conformity and strength within the organization’s services, leading to best practice sharing across countries, which has led to safer and improved services for patients and staff.
Mr. Harry de Wit, President & CEO of Fresenius Medical Asia Pacific, said that the ACHS’ recognition of WeAudit is testament to the dedications and efforts of Fresenius Medical Care Asia Pacific to apply international clinical quality principles across its vast network of dialysis centers in the region whilst remaining culturally sensitive. “I would like to thank everyone who has made this award possible, including the clinics and clinical team members who have worked tirelessly to successfully implement the program. This award demonstrates our organization’s commitment to continuous quality improvement and putting our patients at the center of everything we do – ultimately helping them to lead more active and productive lives”.
