The Future of Healthcare Quality and Safety

A Health Care Organization (HCO) is by definition a complex organization due to the intangible outcome of service and a mix of diverse professional personnel. Healthcare quality management is a critical requirement in the health sector. Quality principles have always been present in health care. However, quality is not a physical characteristic of a service. The use of the term "Health Care Service" rather than "Medical Care" further defines the field and positions it as an entity that can be assessed, monitored, and improved. A quality healthcare system is "accessible, appropriate, available, affordable, effective, efficient, integrated, safe, and patient-centered." Practitioners in allied health services, dentistry, midwifery, obstetrics, medicine, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, psychology, and other care providers provide health care.

Quality management in health care is a broad concept. It was initially perceived as directing healthcare personnel on what to do. However, its current meaning is to manage the care process.  It refers to viewing organizational functions as a jumble of procedures and processes that can be addressed both individually and collectively. Despite the fact that various models have been proposed, Donabedian's concept of the triad of structure, process, and outcome remains the foundation of quality assessment today.

Quality management has emerged as a more pressing need than ever before, owing to the new definition of quality, which includes patient satisfaction as an outcome of service. The quality of services provided to patients is critical. The traditional view of quality control focused on defect detection, whereas the current concept focuses on defect prevention, continuous process improvement, and an outcome-driven system guided by the needs of the patients. As a result, there is an urgent need to effect a paradigm shift in the quality of health care delivery. The authorities must take the initiative to become involved in quality.  Currently, quality is being addressed more in the medical field than in allied fields such as dentistry and nursing, as well as in developing countries.