Abstract
Numerous frameworks have been proposed to capture the concept of quality in health care. Those concerned with defining quality have emphasized aspects including accessibility, acceptability, effectiveness, efficiency and provider competency.1 Others interested in developing approaches for characterizing and evaluating quality have depicted health care as a composite of attributes and elements comprising structure, process and outcome dimensions2 or have subdivided care into technical and interpersonal features.3 An Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee recently collected and evaluated over 100 definitions of quality of care and subsequently developed the following consensus definition: “quality of care is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge”.4 Desired outcomes in this context include consideration of health status, patient satisfaction and well being, and overall quality of life. Others5 have expanded upon that definition slightly by stating that in addition to increasing the probability of desired outcomes, quality should be measured in terms of the degree to which care decreases the probability of undesired outcomes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Palmer RH. Defining quality of care. In Ambulatory health care evaluation: principles and practice. Chicago: American Hospital Publishing Co., 1983: p. 13–16.
Donabedian A. Evaluating the quality of medical care. Milbank Mem Fund Q 1966; 44: 166–203.
Donabedian A. Explorations in quality assessment and monitoring, vol 1: the definition of quality and approaches to its assessment. Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press, 1980.
Institute of Medicine, Committee to Design a Strategy for Quality Review and Assurance in Medicare. Health, health care and quality of care. In: Lohr KN, ed. Medicare: a strategy for quality assurance: a report of a study by the committee of the Institute of Medicine, Division of Health Care Services, vol I. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1990: p. 19–44.
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. The quality of medical care: information for consumers. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988 (OTA-H-386).
Committee to Design a Strategy for Quality Review and Assurance in Medicare. Concepts of assessing, assuring, and improving quality. In: Lohr KN, ed. Medicare: a strategy for quality assurance: a report of a study by the committee of the Institute of Medicine, Division of Health Care Services, vol I. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1990: p. 45–68.
Roberts JS, Schyve PM. From QA to QI: the views and role of the Joint Commission. In: The quality letter for healthcare leaders. Rockville, MD, Bader Associates, Inc., May 1990.
Berwick DM. Continuous improvement as an ideal in health care. N Engl J Med 1989; 320: 53–56.
Palmer RH. The challenges and prospects for quality assessment and assurance in ambulatory care. Inquiry 1988; 25: 119–131.
Crall JJ. Informatics futures in dental education and research: quality assurance. J Dent Educ 1991; 55: 257–261.
ADA Office of Quality Assurance. Guidelines for the development of a quality assurance audit system for hospital dental programs. Chicago: American Dental Association, 1983.
American Dental Association Quality Assurance Project. Quality assurance in dentistry: executive summary, part 3. J Am Dent Assoc 1979; 98: 429–435.
Marcus M. Quality assurance systems. In: National round table on dental quality assurance, summary of proceedings. Chicago: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 1983: p. 5–21.
Cleary PD, McNeil BJ. Patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality care. Inquiry 1988; 25: 25–36.
ADA Bureau of Economic and Behavioral Research. The 1988 survey of dental practice. Chicago: American Dental Association, 1988.
Quality assurance program. Winston-Salem Dental Care Plan, Inc., Winston-Salem, NC, August 1989.
Schoen MH. A quality assessment system: the search for validity. J Dent Educ 1989; 53: 658–661.
Morris AL, Bentley JM, Vito AA, et al. Assessment of private dental practice: report of a study. J Am Dent Assoc 1988; 117: 153–162.
Gotowka TD. Personal communication re: dental office assessment instrument developed by AEtna Healthcare Systems, Inc., 1987.
Steinwachs DM, Weiner JP, Shapiro S. Management information systems and quality. In: Goldfield N, Nash DB, eds. Providing quality care: the challenge to clinicians. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians, 1989: p. 160–181.
Miller AJ, Brunnell JA, Carlos JP, et al. Oral health of United States adults: national findings. Washington, DC: National Institute of Dental Research,1987. (DHHS publication no (PHS) 87–2868).
National Institute of Dental Research. NIDR releases results of new schoolchildren’s survey. Bethesda, MD: NIDR Digest, 1988.
Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Department of Health and Human Services. The selection of patients for x-ray examinations: dental radiographic examinations, 1987. (DHHS publication no (FDA) 888273).
ADA News. House gives parameters a green light. Chicago: American Dental Association, November 5, 1990: p. 6, 16.
Barnett GO, Winickoff RN. Quality assurance and computer-based patient records. Am J Public Health 1990; 80: 527–528.
Deming WE. Quality, productivity and competitive position. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering, 1982.
Juran JM, Gryne FM, Jr. Quality planning and analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1980.
Crosby PB. Quality is free. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1979.
Batalden PB, Buchanan ED. Industrial models of quality improvement. In: Goldfield N, Nash DB, eds. Providing quality care: the challenge to clinicians. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians, 1989: p. 133–159.
Laffel G, Blumenthal D. The case for using industrial quality management science in health care organizations. JAMA 1989; 262: 2869–2873.
Couch JB. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. In: Goldfield N, Nash DB, eds. Providing quality care: the challenge to clinicians. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians, 1989: p. 201–224.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Characteristics of clinical indicators. QRB 1990 15: 330–339.
Leape LL. Practice guidelines and standards: an overview. QRB 1990: 4249.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Agenda for Change. Update 1988; 2: 1, 5.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Crall, J.J. (1992). Informatics and Issues Related to Assessing, Assuring and Improving Quality of Care. In: Abbey, L.M., Zimmerman, J.L. (eds) Dental Informatics. Computers in Health Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9160-9_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9160-9_14
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-9162-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-9160-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive