Quality of care policies in the Czech Republic

Life expectancy in the Czech Republic is higher than in several neighbouring countries and infant mortality rates are amongst the lowest in the OECD. Some indicators of the quality of care show very strong performance – 30-day mortality after acute myocardial infarction is below average and stroke 30-day mortality is only slightly above the OECD average. Yet other indicators are less reassuring – survival rates after a diagnosis of cancer, for example, are poor. This chapter reviews the policies and mechanisms in place to measure and improve the quality of health care in the Czech Republic. Accreditation of facilities is well developed and some specific initiatives, such as the national cancer registry, are also advanced. Nevertheless, compared with other OECD countries, other measures such as regular, open comparison of local quality indicators are less developed. The Czech Republic’s foremost aim should be to move to a quality architecture that allows the continuous, detailed and transparent measurement of health service performance. A more sophisticated data infrastructure will be needed to achieve this, as well as greater consistency of vision, policies and co-ordination across central government authorities.