Administrative management of dental departments in hospitals in Taiwan: A field survey

Background/purposeIn Taiwan, dental departments are not currently included in hospital accreditation which began in 1978. In order to prepare dental department for hospital accreditation, a field survey of dental departments in hospitals was carried out in 2007∼2008.Materials and methodsIn 2007∼2008, a questionnaire survey (evaluation form) about dental administrative management criteria were mailed to 165 dental departments in Taiwan. After the questionnaires were mailed back, a field survey of dental departments of these hospitals was carried out. We then made a field visit to each hospital to check the answers on the questionnaire. The survey rate is 62%. This research examined 30 of the 93 criteria concerned with dental administrative management, and the results were analyzed. Scores of the criteria in the questionnaire (evaluation form) were on a 5-point scale, from high to low: A indicates totally achieved, B indicates above the average standard, C indicates the average standard, D indicates below the average standard, and E indicates not suitable. We analyzed the percentages of A, B, C, D, and E according to the level of medical center, regional hospital, and district hospital, and then for every criterion respectively. Next, we analyzed the percentages of A∼E for the entire dataset.ResultsFor overall dental administrative management, most (48%) medical centers received an A, most (43%) regional hospitals received a B, and most (60%) district hospitals received a C. The overall average was B (37%). The percentages above C were 99.8% of medical centers, 94.7% of regional hospitals, and 87.8% of district hospitals. For facilities management, the percentages above C were 100% of medical centers, 92% of regional hospitals, and 84% of district hospitals. For patient safety and quality control, the percentages above C were 99% of medical centers, 97% of regional hospitals, and 91% of district hospitals.ConclusionFor the overall administrative management of dental departments, medical centers were superior to regional hospitals, which were better than district hospitals. In order to elevate the quality, we suggest that dental department should be included in teaching hospital accreditation, and the criteria we used can be taken for reference for the dental department accreditation in the future.