Quality of care, high standards of care, clear and codified paths serving patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.
There is all this in the ISO 9001 quality certification, currently unique among the Apulian realities, for the diagnostic-therapeutic-assistance path (Pdta) dedicated to patients with Multiple Sclerosis obtained from the Multiple Sclerosis clinic of the Neurology of the Murgia hospital in Altamura , in the Bari area.
The delivery this morning was attended by the administrative director of ASL Bari, Luigi Fruscio , the medical director of the unit, Annalisa Altomare , the director of Neurology, Bonaventura Ardito , the Opt company, Michele Zema and Massimiliano Oro of CSQA . 
"Obtaining the certification - underlined the administrative director Fruscio - represents for the Multiple Sclerosis Center not only a prestigious achievement but also the start of a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement of quality standards.
The clinic becomes an even stronger reference point capable of offering adequate responses to hundreds of patients with an illness that has a significant health and social burden, precisely because one must live with it throughout one's life."
The multiple sclerosis center in Altamura currently has 300 patients in charge, mainly from the Bari area, Alta Murgia area, and Matera but also from other Apulian provinces and Potenza.
In it, 25-30 first new diagnoses are carried out per year (95% in day service and 5% in ordinary hospitalization), with an average of 4 monthly diagnostic day services and 30 monthly follow-up and infusion therapy day services.
Approximately 60% of patients undergo periodic laboratory test checks at the Center and, from 2022, all patients are offered personalized advice by dedicated dieticians and a neuropsychological support approach in the presence of specific problems.
Significant numbers if we consider that every year, in Italy, 3,600 new cases are diagnosed, of which 230-250 in the Puglia region alone and that the Altamura Centre, launched in 2016, is the only one with ISO 9001 quality certification among the 13 Apulian facilities dedicated to Multiple Sclerosis.
ISO 9001 Certification
The ISO 9001 certification path of the PDTA Multiple Sclerosis represents a "best practice" within the organization and a concrete and continuous commitment to continuous improvement for all the actors involved, with the aim of guaranteeing:- maintaining the quality standards of the services provided according to the logic of continuous improvement;
- the appropriateness of the pathways and continuity between care settings;
- multidisciplinary and multi-professional management through a dedicated pathology team which, in full synergy, defines in a coordinated manner the optimal path for each individual patient from diagnosis to follow up;
- punctual adherence to the provisions of the Regional Multiple Sclerosis PDTA and the national Agenas PDTA as well as to the medico-legal regulations with a view to reliability and safety for the patient;
- the implementation and monitoring of key quality indicators (KPIs) and auditing activities on the processes involved according to the logic of "measure to improve".