Difference between revisions of "Quality informatics"

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Lohr and her committee were tasked by the IOM to define quality health care and their definition was "the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge." (3)
 
Lohr and her committee were tasked by the IOM to define quality health care and their definition was "the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge." (3)
  
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The fact that multiple definitions of health care quality exist is an indication that this is a very complex subject to try to define in a few phrases.  Donabedian further described attributes of quality health care, which he called the "Seven Pillars of Quality":(4)
  
 
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1. Efficacy: the ability of care, at its best, to improve health;  
Efficacy: the ability of care, at its best, to improve health;  
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2. Effectiveness: the degree to which attainable health improvements are realized;  
Effectiveness: the degree to which attainable health improvements are realized;  
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3. Efficiency: the ability to obtain the greatest health improvement at the lowest cost;  
Efficiency: the ability to obtain the greatest health improvement at the lowest cost;  
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4. Optimality: the most advantageous balancing of costs and benefits;  
Optimality: the most advantageous balancing of costs and benefits;  
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5. Acceptability: conformity to patient preferences regarding accessibility, the patient-practitioner relation, the amenities, the effects of care, and the cost of care;  
Acceptability: conformity to patient preferences regarding accessibility, the patient-practitioner relation, the amenities, the effects of care, and the cost of care;  
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6. Legitimacy: conformity to social preferences concerning all of the above; and  
Legitimacy: conformity to social preferences concerning all of the above; and  
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7. Equity: fairness in the distribution of care and its effects on health.  
Equity: fairness in the distribution of care and its effects on health.  
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3. Lohr KN, ed. Medicare: a strategy for quality assurance. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1990.
 
3. Lohr KN, ed. Medicare: a strategy for quality assurance. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1990.
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4. Donabedian, A. (1990). "The seven pillars of quality." Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine 114(11): 1115.

Revision as of 03:50, 1 March 2010

In order to address the "Quality of Health Care", attempts have been made to first define the phrase "quality health care". The father of health quality assurance, Avedis Donabedian said that high quality health care consisted of "that kind of care which is expected to maximize an inclusive measure of patient welfare, after one has taken account of the balance of expected gains and losses that attend the process of care in all its parts." (1)

The American Medical Association described high quality health care as that "which consistently contributes to improvement or maintenance of the quality and/or duration of life." (2)

Lohr and her committee were tasked by the IOM to define quality health care and their definition was "the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge." (3)

The fact that multiple definitions of health care quality exist is an indication that this is a very complex subject to try to define in a few phrases. Donabedian further described attributes of quality health care, which he called the "Seven Pillars of Quality":(4)

1. Efficacy: the ability of care, at its best, to improve health; 2. Effectiveness: the degree to which attainable health improvements are realized; 3. Efficiency: the ability to obtain the greatest health improvement at the lowest cost; 4. Optimality: the most advantageous balancing of costs and benefits; 5. Acceptability: conformity to patient preferences regarding accessibility, the patient-practitioner relation, the amenities, the effects of care, and the cost of care; 6. Legitimacy: conformity to social preferences concerning all of the above; and 7. Equity: fairness in the distribution of care and its effects on health.





References:

1. Donabedian A. Explorations in quality assessment and monitoring. Vol. 1. The definition of quality and approaches to its assessment. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Health Administration Press, 1980.

2. American Medical Association, Council of Medical Service. Quality of care. JAMA 1986;256:1032-1034.

3. Lohr KN, ed. Medicare: a strategy for quality assurance. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1990.

4. Donabedian, A. (1990). "The seven pillars of quality." Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine 114(11): 1115.