Quality medicine

Access to your doctor
March 1, 2011
Aspirin for primary prevention
March 13, 2011
Access to your doctor
March 1, 2011
Aspirin for primary prevention
March 13, 2011

Just a quick note today on the topic of quality in medicine.  I hear a lot about “quality medical care” and the “best quality medicine” as I go about my work as both a doctor and a member of the tax-paying public.  Tonight I am rehearsing a CME talk I will give to a group of GPs Wednesday evening to improve the “quality” of their anticoagulation decisions in atrial fibrillation.  I think the definition varies a lot depending on who is speaking.

My own observations are – for doctors, quality means treating your patients with the most evidence-based, effective therapies possible; for administrators, providing care that is as cost-effective as possible; and for patients, care that is humane and considerate of them as a person.  I think many of the dissatisfactions in medicine today result from different perspectives.  Sometimes I think nurses and allied health staff see it the best – they are usually more empathic than doctors but figure out very quickly if the patient is getting better or not.  Perhaps the best answer would be a combination of all these different factors.

I’m curious to see what you think – what is your definition of quality medical care?  Do you have a particular perspective within the health care field?  Do you have any suggestions on how we could improve quality in medicine?  Is our system here in Canada good or is there a long way to go?

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