Quality of care

Quality of care is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes.  It is based on evidence-based professional knowledge and is critical for achieving universal health coverage. As countries commit to achieving Health for All, it is imperative to carefully consider the quality of care and health services.  Quality health care can be defined in many ways but there is growing acknowledgement that quality health services should be:

  • Effective – providing evidence-based healthcare services to those who need them;
  • Safe – avoiding harm to people for whom the care is intended; and
  • People-centred – providing care that responds to individual preferences, needs and values.

To realize the benefits of quality health care, health services must be:

  • Timely – reducing waiting times and sometimes harmful delays;
  • Equitable – providing care that does not vary in quality on account of gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and socio-economic status;
  • Integrated – providing care that makes available the full range of health services throughout the life course;
  • Efficient – maximizing the benefit of available resources and avoiding waste.

Quality of care In practice

By Anand on Mon, 08/May/2023 - 12:45 pm

The Sustainable Development Goals urge countries to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), including financial risk protection and access to quality essential health care services. However, the reality in many settings is that providing quality care remains a significant challenge, and inadequate quality results in avoidable mortality, human suffering and significant economic losses.

Quality of care

Quality of care Key messages

By Anand on Thu, 25/Feb/2021 - 12:00 pm
  • UHC cannot be achieved without attention to quality of care in all settings including those experiencing fragility, conflict and vulnerability. 
  • Quality health services should be: effective; safe; people-centred; timely; equitable; integrated; and efficient.
  • Improving the quality of health services requires strong national direction from governments, focused sub-national support, and action at the health facility level.
Quality of care

Quality of care

By Anand on Thu, 25/Feb/2021 - 11:59 am

Quality of care is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes.  It is based on evidence-based professional knowledge and is critical for achieving universal health coverage. As countries commit to achieving Health for All, it is imperative to carefully consider the quality of care and health services.  Quality health care can be defined in many ways but there is growing acknowledgement that quality health services should be:

Quality of care
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