Dear members dedicated to improvement in health care quality:

   Gone are the days in which patients were merely considered as objects of treatment. Now we must think about how to treat the same patients and diseases more efficiently and safely. A group for management of health care quality and improvement of processes has already been formed in Korea in 1994, which is 30 years ago, and its members have been exchanging opinions and suggesting better ways for patients, health care providers, hospitals, and the nation.

   The goal of KoSQua is to improve the quality of health care by helping QI-related hospital staff improve their work. We will actively support everyone from working-level staff in charge of QI at hospitals to health care providers making and implementing policy decisions so that they can all achieve the mission of improving health care quality and take pride in their role in QI.

   To this end, KoSQua will provide a venue for members to communicate and share information and experiences, and to exchange opinions through academic conferences, training sessions, and local gatherings. We will also share data and materials on our website to use in health care settings, offer education programs for new or specialized employees in cooperation with related societies and associations, and create relevant learning materials and professional books for members to study and learn.

   Health care providers who only learned about diseases and treatments when they were students are not aware of concepts such as providing high-quality medical services or patient safety when treating patients in actual health care settings. Limitations also exist in learning these concepts through on-the-job training or staff in charge of QI at the hospitals. These concepts must be studied and learned in college courses training health care providers. KoSQua will change the system so that college curriculums will include education that can improve health care quality.

   Improving health care quality is not a responsibility that is limited to a single individual, hospital, or learned society. We will be able to improve health care quality and patient safety by cooperating with many other relevant societies and associations and interacting with international societies or organizations to further develop one another.

   Thank you for your support.