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The EQuIP Standards |
Function 1 Clinical
The Clinical function sets out the standards that are mostly associated with clinical care. Achievement of these standards is the responsibility of clinicians.
There are 6 standards as per:
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Continuity of care |
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Access |
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Appropriateness |
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Effectiveness |
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Safety |
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Consumer focus |
Function 2 Support
Support contains those standards and criteria which all providers should work together to achieve.
There are 5 standards as per:
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Quality improvement and risk management |
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Human resources management |
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Information management |
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Population health |
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Research |
Function 3 Corporate
The Corporate function identifies those standards and criteria for which the governing body and senior executives of the organisation are mostly responsible.
There are 2 standards as per:
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Leadership and Management |
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Safe Practice and Environment |
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The EQuIP Framework |
The starting point for EQuIP is the standards.
The standards address the essential elements of quality care across the organisational functions that are integral in supporting the provision of care.
The standards are structured in a hierarchy, as follows:
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Functions |
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Standards |
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Criteria |
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Elements |
Function
A function is a group of standards.
Standard
The standard describes the overall goal; for example, consumers / patients are provided with high quality care throughout the care delivery process.
Criterion
The criterion describe key components of the goal, that are necessary for meeting the goal; for example, planning care with patients, families and carers and working in partnership with them to achieve the best possible results.
Element
For each criterion there is a series of elements. Each element identifies what should be in place to achieve the criterion at a certain rating level (please refer to rating levels details later in this section).
Altogether, EQuIP 4 has three functions, 13 standards, and 45 criteria.
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The EQuIP programme cycle |
EQuIP member organisations are guided by The DAA Group through this cycle comprising:
Self-Assessments
Organisations need to assess their achievements and outcomes regularly to improve performance. Using the Electronic
Assessment Tool (EAT), organisations can compare and continually update and review their performance against the EQuIP standards.
The self-assessment provides a gap analysis that the organisation can use as a basis for planning.
During an EQUIP cycle an organisation will complete two self-assessments in between surveys and a pre-survey assessment prior to each of the two surveys.
For the Organisation-Wide Survey (OWS), the pre-survey assessment will address all of the criteria. For the Periodic Review,
the pre-survey assessment will address the mandatory criteria.
Organisation-Wide Survey
An Organisation-Wide Survey is conducted by DAA Group surveyors.
They are experienced and trained industry peers who provide feedback on overall performance. The survey involves several
components including:
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Presentations made by staff to demonstrate their achievements and improvements in all major areas of the organisation's operations |
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Verification by surveyors of the organisation's achievements in relation to EQuIP standards |
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Summation of the surveyors findings, recommendations and guidance for future action |
Periodic Review
A Periodic Review is an onsite survey that is undertaken in order to further facilitate ongoing improvement and maintenance
of achievements. This review includes:
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Action taken in response to recommendations from the previous survey |
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Organisational performance in relation to the 14 Mandatory Criteria |
Survey reports
Following each Organisation-Wide Survey and Periodic Review a summary of the surveyors' findings is compiled to provide the
organisation with:
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A detailed assessment of its performance against the EQuIP standards and criteria |
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Identification of areas where performance is satisfactory or where further action is required |
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Positive comments in areas of high achievement |
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Suggestions and recommendations for improvement |
Response to Recommendations from Organisation-Wide Survey
or Periodic Review
Organisations are required to maintain in the Electronic Assessment Tool (EAT) action and planned action (including target dates) in response to the recommendations from the last survey event.
This is reviewed by the surveyors at the next survey event.
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EQUIP Comparative Report Service |
ACHS Comparative Report Service
(Clinical Indicator Programme)
The ACHS clinical indicator programme is a service offered to health care organisations in Australia and New Zealand. Information from the indicators is the largest source of data gathered on the quality of health care in Australia and New
Zealand.
It is the only national clinical indicator programme which examines data across a full range of medical disciplines.
The role of the ACHS Performance and Outcomes Service is to coordinate the development, collection, collation, analysis, and reporting of the clinical indicators.
The ACHS, through the Performance and Outcomes Service (POS) has considerable information on over 300 clinical indicators with more than 700 health care organisations participating in the ACHS Comparative Report Service in any six month
period.
The Comparative Report Service (i.e. the clinical indicator programme) provides comparative information on the processes and outcomes of health care. Participating organisations are able to submit indicator data for inclusion in an extensive
indicator database.
Data are aggregated and analysed twice yearly and results are provided in the form of Comparative Reports. These reports compare results across all contributing organisations as well as providing a comparison with 'peer organisations based on
a number of variables. ACHS indicators provide evidence of various aspects of care and can be linked to appropriate EQuIP standards.
Subscription to the ACHS Comparative Report Service is a component of EQuIP membership and all EQuIP members are encouraged to submit indicator data.
EQuIP 4 includes the introduction of the mandatory criterion regarding care evaluation: 1.1.4 Care is evaluated by health care providers and when appropriate the consumer / patient and carer.
The clinical indicators can assist organisations to achieve an MA rating in both this and other criteria.
Clinical indicators can be used for both internal and external benchmarking.
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The Benefits of EQuIP Membership |
For people receiving your care, EQuIP provides:
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Assurance that your service conforms to industry standards |
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Comfort in the knowledge that your staff are accountable for their care |
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Trust in your staffs ability to respond appropriately to their needs |
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Security in the knowledge that systems are in place to identify and eradicate or minimise problems |
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Assurance that they remain informed and involved in planning for their health care |
EQuIP means the people working in your organisation are:
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Empowered to improve the delivery of service and care |
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Provided with benchmarks for quality outcomes |
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Equipped with a rigorous approach to continuing improvement |
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Given a comprehensive report for your organisations continuous improvement |
For people who fund your service EQuIP provides:
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Assurance that your organisation operates according to industry standards |
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Confidence that your organisation is customer focused |
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Evidence of quality outcomes |
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Confidence in the way your organisation minimises and manages risk |
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Better value for the money spent on health |
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EQuIP Membership Entitlements |
EQuIP membership includes:
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A range of publications either web-based or in hard copy including The EQuIP 4 Guide, specific service guidelines |
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Electronic Assessment Tool (EAT) |
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Support from Telarc Quality Health (The DAA Group) |
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Organisation-Wide Survey |
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Onsite Periodic Review |
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Access to the ACHS Clinical Indicator Program and support from the ACHS |
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Performance and Outcomes Service |
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Technical IT support for EQuIP products |
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Public relations support |
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EQuIP Accreditation FAQs |
How long does an Organisation-Wide Survey take?
Surveys vary from one to five days depending on the size and scope of your organisation.
What will be the extra workload of implementing EQuIP?
Organisations that already have systems in place and an infrastructure for regularly reviewing care and service may simply need to review and / or modify their current approaches to incorporate the EQuIP framework.
Organisations new to a quality programme will need to establish infrastructure and systems using the EQuIP framework as a guide.
Once a self-assessment is completed it can then be reviewed and becomes a living document. EQuIP is designed to be incorporated into everyday practice.
What happens if we need more help?
Telarc Quality Health staff and contractors are available to answer any questions you may have on EQuIP. Your survey team leader will also discuss the survey findings with you, answer questions and make suggestions for future action.
Where can I get more information?
Phone the DAA Group office on 0800 55 99 55
Fax your inquiry to 04 499 0368
Email admin@daagroup.co.nz
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