Background: The service level agreement establishes the quality requirements for those services contracted by the Basque Government Health Department from Osakidetza-Servicio Vasco de Salud. Acute cerebrovascular disease (ACVD) is one of the care processes with quality specifications.
Objective: To outline the procedure adopted to evaluate ACVD care and the results obtained in four hospitals in Vizcaya between 2003 and 2007.
Material and methods: In 2003, a work group consisting of clinicians, hospital and quality assurance managers, and experts from the Regional Health Board chose a series of indicators which would be measured by an external auditor. This group reviews the results annually and sets objectives for the following financial year.
Results: The improvement in almost all the indicators has been significant, and those with high ratings from the beginning have maintained their level. The percentage of patients who had a CAT scan in the first six hours after arriving at hospital increased from 57% to 85%, and the administration of anticoagulants within 12 hours increased from 70% of cases to 90%. The fibrinolysis rate was 3.8% in two hospitals. The percentage of patients who began rehabilitation whilst admitted was less than 3%.
Conclusions: After operating for five years, the procedure adopted, which involves collaboration between clinical, management and planning staff, has been shown to be viable and effective in improving the quality of ACVD care.