The Flanders Quality Model, FlaQuM, is a new evidence based quality model that supports hospitals to develop a sustainable quality management system. Download here the 2 page infographic on FlaQuM. The FlaQuM model encompasses three pillars:
- Thinking based on a quality vision model;
- Doing by focusing on the implementation of the co-creation roadmap;
- Learning from innovation and social capital in interhospital collaboratives.
Each of these three pillars consists of several validated and reliable models, tools and instruments that guide hospitals towards a sustainable quality management system. Here you can find an overview of the academic output. Currently, FlaQuM is being implemented in 22 hospitals in Flanders (Belgium). These hospital are called the FlaQuM-Consortium.
Why are we developing new models?
In Flanders, the northern region of Belgium with more than 6.5 million inhabitants and around 70 acute-care and specialised hospitals, a governmental coalition agreement was established in 2009. In this agreement between the government and hospital associations a ‘Quality-of-Care Triad’ was defined and hospitals were encouraged to build their quality management system mainly around this triad. The latter consists of a voluntary organisation-wide external accreditation by an international external agency, mandatory governmental inspections and voluntary public reporting of quality indicators. The mandatory governmental inspections consist of an announced systemic inspection of which accredited hospitals are exempt, as well as a yearly unannounced examination of patient trajectories. As described in a recent study, Flemish hospitals have been increasingly implementing the Flemish ‘Quality-of-Care Triad’, especially from 2020 onwards, with 100% of Flemish hospitals having obtained an accreditation label by either the JCI or the Dutch Qualicor Europe; and all hospitals voluntarily publicly reporting a selected set of quality indicators.
After a decade of commitment to this ‘Quality-of-Care Triad’, there was a need to evaluate and rethink this Flemish quality policy. Consequently, the Flemish minister of healthcare stated in 2021 that no governmental inspections on hospitals’ quality management system would be conducted before December 2023. In practice, each hospital is given the opportunity to design their own quality management system but they still have to comply with the generic standards and disease specific standards controlled by Flemish government and other laws on healthcare, quality and patient safety in Flanders, Belgium and Europe. So, 25 Flemish hospitals combined their experience and expertise in developing a quality management system and participate in the FlaQuM-Consortium.
International validation of FlaQuM
Since 2023, the FlaQuM model is validated by international experts and received the ISQuaEEA-recognition with a score of 97%. After a self-assessment, the components of the submitted system are screened by international experts and advised on where the system can make additional efforts in the next years.
Status December 2025
As of today, the three LIHP-KU Leuven PhDs, which were defended within the framework of the Zorgnet-Icuro chair and the Sint-Trudo hospital chair, are available to the general public.
- Van Wilder A., De Ridder D., Bruyneel L., Vanhaecht K., (2023). Retrospective analysis of temporal trends and variability in patient outcomes within the belgian hospital landscape, PhD dissertation, KU Leuven, ISBN 9789464944433.
- Claessens F., Seys D., De Ridder D., Vanhaecht K., (2024). Towards a sustainable quality management system in hospitals, PhD dissertation, KU Leuven, ISBN 9789081790877.
- Brouwers J., De Ridder D., Bruyneel L., Eeckloo K., Vanhaecht K., (2023). Exploring the future of hospital quality management and policy in Flanders, PhD dissertation, KU Leuven.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact our FlaQuM project manager Charlotte Van der Auwera
flaqum.org 