Core to quality is the development of a quality culture, or a mindset which should permeate the pharmacy. You must learn to nurture and develop the right enabling patterns of behaviour to develop a quality culture.

Whilst this concept in not new within quality improvement approaches or healthcare, it is often overlooked. Many organisations spend a lot of time on the application of method and tools, but not upon the culture in which these tools are implemented.  

A lot has been written about the importance of a quality culture and the impact of ignoring it. Whilst many organisations embrace QI initiatives, they often find it difficult to progress and sustain the right quality culture. Some of the common challenges include:

• Implementing quality initiatives, but not monitoring the improvements effectively
• Employees are trained, but are not empowered to apply their expertise
• Quality improvement initiatives are side-tracked by more pressing or competing priorities
• Expertise is lost through staff turnover.

But what are the benefits of creating a sustained focus on a quality culture?

• Contributes to safer care and a better experience for your patients
• Demonstrates a commitment to ongoing quality improvement
• Enhances teamwork in the practice
• Enhances clinical processes
• Makes achieving quality targets easier.

Therefore, it is important to cultivate the key features of a quality culture to ensure you are moving in the right direction. Explaining the importance of QI to your team is not enough, you must nourish a culture of continuous quality improvement. But how can you implement and sustain a strong QI culture in your pharmacy?

Executing a series of quality improvement initiatives does not build an effective culture of continuous improvement. It’s a good place to start, but more needs to be done to drive excellence over the longer term and embed continuous improvement within your practice.  

Quality improvement toolkits, quality policies and standard operating procedures cannot do this on their own. It is ultimately people who determine your success. Figure One (on the right) outlines the key features present in a quality improvement culture.