Question

Compare and contrast the definition (meaning) of quality in the context of healthcare, Demonstrate the similarity and differences (if any) from the perspective of the patient (consumer) and regulatory or accrediting agencies.

Answer 1

Introduction:

Quality means the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.

Definition of Quality for Healthcare:

There are many definitions to quality and those definitions would be different in accordance to the stream they are measured. For instance the definition of quality for healthcare would be different when compare to the definition of quality for business.

In business, engineering, and manufacturing, quality has a pragmatic interpretation as the non-inferiority or superiority of something; it's also defined as being suitable for its intended purpose (fitness for purpose) while satisfying customer expectations. Consumers focus on the specification quality of a product/service, or how it compares to competitors in the marketplace. Producers might measure the conformance quality, or degree to which the product/service was produced correctly.

The Institute of Medicine defines health care quality as "the degree to which health care services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge." Consumers in healthcare focus on staying healthy, getting better, living with illness or disability and coping with the end of life. In all these they look for the quality of healthcare provided by healthcare providers and compare the quality of healthcare to choose between the best healthcare providers.