What Does Quality Mean to You?

Quality is an unparalleled level of excellence that leaves a customer with a sense of satisfaction with the service experience, as well as a desire to return.  In healthcare, quality is largely determined by the individualized experiences of patients and staff alike.  Whether positive or negative, an individual’s perception of quality in healthcare is a strong determinant of his loyalty to that organization, as well as his willingness to recommend the organization to others.   

Many healthcare organizations are taking great strides to address the demands of its customers by adopting amenity-driven, concierge facilities that cater to perceived determinants of quality.  Interestingly, the determination of quality seems to have shifted to focus less on the actual delivery of care and subsequent health outcomes, and more on the setting in which the care was delivered.  At the same time, healthcare organizations are realizing the validity of the perceptions of quality that are held by their employees, thus they are beginning to treat them as their internal customers.  Surveys, such as Press-Ganey, are being utilized by healthcare organizations to analyze patient’s opinions in order to achieve the desired outcome of quality, patient-centered care. 

While quality care continues to be in high demand, the question must be asked whether quality will be inadvertently sacrificed at the hands of universal health care.  Though many argue that everyone should have access to necessary care, no one has the ability to fully predict whether universal health care has the ability to sustain the same level of quality care.  As Joshi and Berwick mentioned, factors in determining quality include the underuse, overuse, and misuse of healthcare.  Though many services are currently being underused due to their cost and inaccessibility, those same services may in turn become overused in a universal healthcare setting.  Similarly, healthcare services are at risk of being misused by individuals, should accessibility of care be increased.  Whether or not universal health care is implemented, the bottom line is that quality can never be sacrificed, even if it is for universal health care.