Quality Issues in Primary Healthcare

Healthcare quality is defined by the US Institute of Medicine' as "the degree to which healthcare services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge." Healthcare quality assessment should have the following six domains. Effectiveness: relates to providing care and outcomes as supported by scientific evidence. Efficiency: relates to maximizing the quality of a comparable unit of healthcare delivered or unit of health benefit achieved for a given unit of healthcare resources used. Equity: relates to providing healthcare of equal quality to those who may differ in personal characteristics other than their clinical condition or preferences for care. Patient centeredness: relates to meeting patients' needs and preferences and providing education and support.