DOH ISO 9001-2008 Initiative
From DOH File – November 2014
In March 2012, the DOH started its journey though the 12 Steps of the ISO-QMS roadmap with the ultimate goal of ISO certification for the whole Department. This whole endeavor was pursued to further improve the quality of services provided by DOH for the public as well as to be at par with international community in preparation for the ASEAN integration and globalization.
1. What is ISO and why is it important to DOH?
ISO or International Organization for Standardization, is the world’s largest developer and publisher of international standards. One of its standards is the ISO 9001:2008 which is the Quality Management System (QMS). We established QMS in DOH following the set of standards that are contained in the ISO 9001:2008.
ISO 9001:2008 is the standard that provides quality management system or QMS. QMS is deemed important in government as it promotes integrity, accountability, proper management of public affairs and public property, as well as, establishes effective practices aimed at the prevention of graft and corruption.
2. What is Quality Management System and how DOH adopted this?
QMS is a system of management that focuses not only on the output but on the quality of which will be reflected by efficiency and effectiveness.
QMS in government agencies and personnel creates conditions that transform them into professional, motivated, and energized bureaucracies with adequate means to perform public service.
Everything we do, produces products or services that should contribute to the achievement of our quality plans and objectives that will ultimately redound to our clients’ satisfaction.
3. How about its scope and coverage?
The scope of DOH QMS for health system administration includes health policies, programs, systems and standards development; health research management; capacity building; health regulation; and health program monitoring and evaluation. These core processes are interrelated to deliver the services as mandated in DOH mission.
With regards to coverage, in 2013, the Department of Health has expanded its certification to include the remaining 14 Regional Offices . This has increased the number of offices under a single certification from 19 to 33 offices/bureaus making the Department of Health officially as the first government agency under the Executive branch to have a department-wide Quality Management System certified to ISO 9001:2008.
Because of the success of the Department in achieving ISO certification, the DOH Hospitals were inspired to also pursue ISO certification for their respective hospitals. This is in line with the commitment of the Department to “ensure the highest standards of health care in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements… ” as stated in the DOH Quality Policy. As of date, 28 DOH hospitals have already been ISO certified, while the rest are in various stages of the certification process. It is hoped that by year 2016 all DOH hospitals are ISO certified.
4. What is the significance of ISO to DOH employees?
Being ISO certified makes the DOH employees proud. It means that an employee belongs to an organization that consciously standardizes its processes and systems and seeks to continually improve them.
Each employee feels a sense of accomplishment for he knows that he is contributing to the achievement of the overall goal of the organization. It brings pride to all employees of the Department that the services provided by DOH is of international standard quality.
“ISO tayo… Serbisyong de Kalidad at SiguraDOH”
ROJ@15mar20