The EFQM excellence model is useful for primary health care teams.

BACKGROUND Primary care teams are facing an increased need to develop quality programmes at local level. GPs must lead this process and promote a positive organizational culture if they want to achieve and maintain a continuous improvement of the service. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to test the applicability and reliability of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model self-assessment questionnaire in a primary health care organization. METHOD A cross-sectional study was carried out of the EFQM questionnaire to compare the scores achieved by a primary health care team in Spain caring for 42 000 inhabitants using internal self-assessment with the scores achieved by professional management auditors through an external audit. RESULTS The scores of each criterion achieved by self-evaluation are similar to or lower than those assessed by the external evaluation. There is agreement in the areas suitable for improvement. CONCLUSIONS The experience proves the applicability of the EFQM excellence model for primary health care teams and its reliability, at least when the team undergoing self-assessment know they are going to be re-evaluated. There is high concordance in the identification of areas for improvement.