Evaluation of health services organisations – German experiences with the EFQM excellence approach in healthcare

Expands on previous reports by illustrating experiences of German health services organisations made in their assessment against the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model. Indicates the EFQM method and scoring system. Refers to the experiences German health care pioneers made during their early assessments. Also, success factors and best practices of self‐assessments are shared, as well as limitations, barriers, and lessons learned during the implementation phase. The excellence model is a systematic quality management approach to gain competitive advantage. It is non‐governmental, non‐financier driven, and generic enough to address health care issues. Having its foundation in industry, however, it is not specific enough to cover all areas relevant to health care.