The Echocardiography Quality Framework: a comprehensive, patient-centered approach to quality assurance and continuous service improvement.

The Echocardiography Quality Framework is a cohesive, patient-centered program, combining quality assurance and continuous service improvement, which can be adapted to suit the needs of any echocardiography department. The framework encompasses measures of the quality of care, reproducibility and consistency, education and training, and customer feedback. The EQF is scalable and adaptable to benefit any echocardiography service. A catalogue or library of supporting documents is being developed, drawing on expertise around the UK, to made available to any participating department. A mechanism and online infrastructure for national registration or assessment is being developed, to be used as a standalone adjunct or linked to BSE Departmental Accreditation. The principles that underpin the EQF may be applicable to other imaging disciplines and, ultimately, other medical or surgical specialties.