Patients under the care of the Rheumatology and Immunology Center often experience severe and refractory diseases that are accompanied by comorbidities such as early-onset cardiovascular disease, interstitial lung disease, and osteoporosis, which reduce both life expectancy and quality of life. High-quality interdisciplinary teamwork and continuous improvement in care quality are required to achieve holistic patient care. Thus, the Rheumatology and Immunology Center participated in the 24th Joint Commission of Taiwan National Healthcare Quality Award for the Quality Improvement System category, aiming to use external evaluations to identify deficiencies and optimize quality.
Since its establishment in 2016, the Rheumatology and Immunology Center has developed a high-quality interdisciplinary medical care team and established streamlined processes for collaborative care and referrals, meeting the demand for superior medical care and the rigorous requirements of total quality management. With a patient-first approach, the center provides innovative and comprehensive medical services and encourages patient participation in medical decisions, particularly in selecting targeted drug therapies. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the center also implemented a cloud-based medical care information system to achieve continuous health education and seamless doctor–patient communication. To enhance care quality, the center established timely key performance indicators and standard operating procedures related to high-quality care, using business intelligence for quality monitoring and the Plan-Do-Check-Act method for improvement. Over the past 5 years, the center has achieved remarkable results, including high-quality medical care, extensive online health education with high satisfaction rates, improved safety in the use of high-risk (targeted) medications, and significantly enhanced patient self-care quality.