PHT Services, Ltd. was one of the first service organizations in South Carolina to have its quality management system registered to the ISO 9002:1994 standard in December 2000. PHTS maintained its QMS certification and upgraded to the revised ISO 9001:2000 standard, which was designed to focus more on service organizations, during its external audit by QMI in 2003. ISO 9001:2000 is the most widely recognized mark of an organization’s commitment to fulfilling customer requirements.

The letters ISO come from the Greek word for "equal" (isos). These three letters have been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, but ISO is not an acronym for that organization. The International Organization for Standardization is composed of 149 member countries, with each country entitled to one vote. The United States’ representative is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The intent of ISO is to create a universal approach to evaluating, managing, and directing quality based on global standards. ISO quality management standards were first published in 1987 as a quality management system. The International Organization for Standardization publishes a set of standards that outlines procedures to establish performance standards, designate responsibilities, organize processes, and demand management accountability. The focus of ISO standards is to encourage continuous performance improvement and documentation of process and procedures. ISO standards are intended to apply to a wide range of industries. The standards are not industry-specific. (Excerpt from Chapter 17: Accreditation, Licensure, Certification, and Surveying Bodies, Fifth Edition, Risk Management Handbook for Health Care Organizations).

ISO 9001:2000 is the standard that provides a set of minimum standardized requirements for a quality management system, regardless of what the user organization does, its size, or whether it is in the private or public sector. It is the only standard in the ISO 9000 family of standards against which organizations can be certified, although certification is not a compulsory requirement of the standard. The other standards in the family cover specific aspects such as fundamentals and vocabulary, performance improvements, documentation, training, and financial and economic aspects.

ISO 9001:2000 is based on eight Quality Management Principles:

1. Customer Focus
2. Leadership
3. Involvement of People
4. Process Approach
5. System Approach to Management
6. Continual Improvement
7. Factual Approach to Decision Making
8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship

ISO provides the framework for linking cultural commitment to quality and safety and targeted interventions while actively searching for variations that could lead to product/service failures.

“Although ISO registration is traditionally associated with manufacturing concerns, more and more service organizations, including hospitals, are moving in the same direction to ensure consistent quality,” notes David D. Dodge, president & CEO, PHT Services, Ltd. “Maintaining ISO registration assures our clients that we are adhering to a high level of quality while focusing on continual improvement in all aspects of our operations,” he adds.

ISO 9001:2000 requires the following procedures:

• Control of Documents
• Control of Records
• Internal Audit
• Control of Nonconforming Product
• Corrective Action
• Preventive Action

PHTS committed to the adoption of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system in order to: 1) systematically review and improve the company’s internal processes, and 2) provide overall organizational improvement and increased stakeholder satisfaction. For PHTS this commitment to quality client service can be summed up best in its Quality Policy:

"Our goal is to consistently deliver outstanding value to our clients. To ensure that PHTS associates meet our clients’ expectations, we devote considerable resources to professional development and towards providing associates tools of the trade. This reflects our commitment to continuous improvement – in our associates, in our processes, and in our services. Along with an emphasis on client satisfaction and a culture of pursuing excellence, we are committed to complying with all legal, ethical, and procedural requirements.

Perhaps a simple way to express our quality policy is to note that it is based on three pillars – clients, compliance, and culture. No organization can stay in business if clients are not the number one priority; no organization deserves to stay in business if it does not comply with all ethical and legal standards; no organization can hope to achieve the above two objectives without a healthy and vibrant company culture."