The American Society for Quality  has included in its September issue of Quality Progress Magazine an article entitled “Driving Performance: How ISO 9001 helped a Georgia healthcare system provide safer, more effective care” by Casey Bedgood, certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Accreditation Optimization Officer for Navicent Health. The article examines the benefits of applying the principles of ISO 9001:2015 to innovate and improve care when faced with disruptions, such as decreasing reimbursements.

“In the past few years, the healthcare market arguably has experienced more change than in the past several decades. Health systems are expected to innovate, increase agility and provide safer, more effective care. ISO 9001:2015 can assist health systems as they transition from traditional operating models to high-performance systems,” said Bedgood.

Navicent Health hospitals are certified in ISO 9001:2015 as part of a strategic journey toward high performance. ISO 9001 is the world’s most trusted quality management system used by performance-driven organizations around the world to advance their quality and sustainability objectives. To learn more about Navicent Health’s journey with ISO 9001, please click here. 

ISO 9001 certification has allowed Navicent Health hospitals to reduce variation in nonconformities by 51 percent annually and reduce nonconformity standard deviation by 74 percent annually, resulting in safer, more effective care for patients. Navicent Health’s experience with ISO 9001 may be applied and replicated at other healthcare organizations nationwide who are also seeking to transform performance.  Bedgood’s full article is available for ASQ subscribers to view at https://asq.org/quality-progress.