Project News Vol.16

The revision of the evaluation tool based on national quality standards, which had been under development by the Department of Healthcare and Rehabilitation (DHR) of the Ministry of Health, has been completed and officially announced. This revision was based on recommendations derived from insights gained in four southern provinces under the QHCF project and proposals from the LuxDev Lao/035 project (a health and nutrition project by the Luxembourg Development Cooperation). Since last year, these revisions had been under review within the DHR. Following the announcement of the revision, a training session on the evaluation tool was conducted for the four southern provinces as the final training session of the project.

Review meetings were held at the provincial level to reflect on continuous quality improvement (CQI) and patient safety activities implemented at district hospitals, together with relevant stakeholders from the provincial and district levels.

Additionally, a report summarizing the insights gained from CQI activities conducted at the provincial and district levels, "Implementing Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): Guide for Practical Applications and Outcomes in Four Southern Provinces," was published at the end of February.

Furthermore, a report on patient safety activities, "Patient Safety Situational Report in Health Facilities," is scheduled to be published in late March.

Provincial review meetings on accounting, hospital finance, and health insurance were conducted in each province for the districts. During these meetings, provincial and district health offices and hospitals formulated their activity plans for 2025, including activities beyond the project’s completion. The activity plans were compiled into a calendar and shared within each province as well as with the Department of Planning and Finance (DOPF).

Additionally, work is underway to finalize a Q&A guide for health insurance staff.

Ahead of the project’s completion on March 26, farewell courtesy visits were conducted to the four southern provinces from late February to early March. In each province, the provincial health directors expressed their commitment to continuing the activities implemented under the QHCF project in front of provincial health office representatives and hospital officials.

A courtesy visit to the Ministry of Health is conducted in mid-March, followed by the final project debriefing session at the JICA office.