Is the maturity of hospitals' quality improvement systems associated with measures of quality and patient safety?

Background: Previous research addressed the development of a classification scheme for quality improvement systems in European hospitals. In this study we explore associations between the 'maturity' of the hospitals' quality improvement system and clinical outcomes.

Methods: The maturity classification scheme was developed based on survey results from 389 hospitals in eight European countries.

Is there an association between the quality of hospitals' research and their quality of care?

Objective: It is often claimed that hospitals that are leaders in biomedical research provide higher health care quality, or vice versa. Although several studies have shown a relationship between teaching status and quality of care, none has analysed the association between research output and hospital outcomes. Our aim was to determine whether there is a relationship between bibliometric measures of research output in acute hospitals and hospital mortality for two common cardiac conditions.