Organization and responsibilities
The Global Medical Office drives the medical strategy and coordinates activities that contribute to the advancement of medical science and patient care. The Global Medical Office is led by the Global Chief Medical Officer who is a member of the Management Board of Fresenius Medical Care. Key findings produced by the Global Medical Office are reviewed by multiple stakeholders across the company. These findings are published on a regular basis and shared with the medical community.
Internal rules of conduct and guidelines
Fresenius Medical Care’s commitment to continuously improve the quality of care is included in their Code of Ethics and Business Conduct. The Global Patient Care Policy outlines the principles, responsibilities, and processes in connection with medical strategy and quality management, patient experience surveys and patient grievance mechanisms. Responsibility for integrating the policy into the business operations lies with senior medical leadership and the interdisciplinary patient care teams across the globe.
When it comes to the safety and quality of products and services, the business segment is guided by its Global Quality Policy. This policy also covers the obligation to comply with relevant regulations and maintain environmentally sound and efficient operations. It is the basis for regional quality manuals and further policies covering responsibilities, training, risk assessments, and audits. Product safety and quality are overseen by the newly established Care Enablement segment, which was implemented on January 1, 2023. The Management Board is regularly informed about the global quality and safety performance.
Over the past few years, Fresenius Medical Care has merged the quality management systems in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, as well as in Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.
Fresenius Medical Care continually measures and assesses the quality of the care provided in its dialysisDialysisForm of renal replacement therapy where a semipermeable membrane – in peritoneal dialysis the peritoneum of the patient, in hemo dialysis the membrane of the dialyzer – is used to clean a patient’s blood. clinics based on internationally recognized quality standards. These include those of the global nonprofit Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) initiative, the U.S. National Kidney Foundation’s Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI), and the European Renal Best Practice guidelines. The business segment also considers industry-specific clinical benchmarks and its own quality targets.
Patient information
Fresenius Medical Care treats patients across the full spectrum of chronic kidney disease. The company aims to empower them to make informed decisions about the treatment options that best fit their unique circumstances. Home dialysis provides patients with the opportunity for greater independence and control over their time and health outcomes. It also allows Fresenius Medical Care to expand its healthcare capacity, increasing the number of patients that can receive dialysis treatment. In addition, by facilitating access to treatment for patients living in more remote regions, the company aims to widen its geographical reach and reduce patient travel.
Patient satisfaction
The business segment uses the information collected by patient experience surveys to evaluate the services provided by its dialysis clinics and implement global improvement plans. Over time, the company has strengthened its efforts to improve patient education, individualized patient care, and service excellence. For example, Fresenius Medical Care has used feedback from the surveys to develop educational materials that help clinic staff better inform their patients more comprehensively about health-related topics.
Surveillance and reporting systems
Post-market surveillance, or the act of monitoring the products that have been released to the market, is an integral part of quality management. It is essential that products and services are effective and reliable, and that they pose as little a risk as possible to patients. Standards for planning, conducting, and monitoring clinical studies help enhance the product quality and safety of products. Should any issue arise concerning the safety of our products, Fresenius Medical Care takes corrective action. This could include publishing further information and data on the product after market introduction, or recalling the product. Fresenius Medical Care strives to comply with legal and regulatory requirements in monitoring the adverse effects of drugs – also called pharmacovigilance – and medical devices. The business segment collects and reviews information relating to adverse events and product complaints.
In addition to experience surveys, Fresenius Medical Care offers further feedback channels. Patients and their representatives can report grievances, make suggestions, or raise concerns anonymously if they wish. Feedback channels include hotlines and email addresses, complaint and suggestion boxes, and a feedback form on the company website. The company’s policies allow patients to file reports without fear of reprisal. Fresenius Medical Care also provides training at the local level to support staff in following patient grievance guidelines.
Our ambitions
As part of the global patient experience program, Fresenius Medical Care aims to conduct patient experience surveys at least every two years. Fresenius Medical Care aims to achieve an NPS score of at least 70 each year.
Progress and measures in 2022
In the reporting year, Fresenius Medical Care implemented a new global measurement to track quality of care: the quality index. This index reflects the combined results of three equally weighted quality indicators:
- Dialysis effectiveness, which measures how sufficiently the body is cleansed of waste substances,
- vascular access, which measures the share of patients who do not receive dialysis via a dialysis catheter but rather via safer vascular access alternatives that reduce risk of infection and improve outcomes,
- anemia management, which measures hemoglobin levels and specific medications given during dialysis to achieve optimum clinical outcomes, such as overall health and well-being.
The company plans to use the indicator to continuously measure and improve quality of care on a global level. By the end of 2024, the business segment aims to develop and pilot a new global training program to further educate the medical community on quality improvement.
Evaluation
Fresenius Medical Care evaluates medical indicators on an ongoing basis to measure the quality of care provided in its dialysis clinics. The global hospitalization rate measures the length of time a patient spends in hospital. This is an important indicator, given that hospitalization has a significant impact on a patient’s clinical outcomes and quality of life. In 2022, the global hospitalization rate was 10.6 days per patient (2021: 10.7).
Fresenius Medical Care measures patient experience in its dialysis clinics using the NPS. The NPS reflects patients’ overall satisfaction with the services and to what extent they feel well cared for and supported. In 2022, the business segment attained an NPS score of 71, the same value as in 2021. The NPS threshold target of at least 70 reflects the company’s aim to continuously obtain excellent scores, and improve patient experience despite challenges such as staffing shortages and the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the NPS calculations, the share of patients is measured that would recommend Fresenius Medical Care. In the reporting year, 78% of the patients answered in the survey that they would highly recommend the services.
In addition to the NPS, Fresenius Medical Care also tracks survey coverage and response rates. In 2022, a global coverage rate of 92% was achieved in line with the target of 75% or above. The business segment attained a response rate of 69%.
Fresenius Medical Care Net Promoter Score
Download(XLS, 35 KB)| Year | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| NPS | 71 | 71 |
| Annual target | 70 | 70 |
In 2022, the company received 23,011 reports (2021: 24,449). Fresenius Medical Care is committed to resolving issues in a timely manner. In 2022, the quality index score was 81%.
Fresenius Medical Care has defined KPIs to monitor its quality objectives and prevent adverse events. The audit score indicates the ratio of major and critical findings to the number of external audits. In 2022, more than 50 certification audits were performed at production sites. The audit score was 0.3 (2021: 0.1). Fresenius Medical Care has set the target of an average global audit score not exceeding 1.0 to maintain the effectiveness of its quality management systems and certifications. All audit findings are documented and escalated depending on their criticality, and used to determine and implement appropriate corrective and preventive measures.