Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Abstract

Quality assurance and quality control are important means by which standards of service are set and maintained. Quality assurance is the term used to refer to those processes which aim to ensure that concern for quality is designed and built into services. Quality control refers to processes of verification or challenge and will include systematic monitoring, audit and inspection designed to establish whether standards are being achieved. Total quality management describes an approach to quality assurance which stresses the importance of creating a culture in which concern for quality is an integral part of service delivery (DoH, 1992).