Evaluation of quality of patient care in physiotherapy

Government control over health spending and public demands for improved services have increasingly stimulated professional activity in methods of evaluating the quality of patient care. This paper discusses three distinct approaches to evaluation: evaluation of structure, process and outcome. A well-rounded system of quality appraisal should probably include concurrent or co-ordinated assessments of all three methods, to the extent that each of these is observable and measurable under the constraints inherent in any given setting. The greatest value of developmental and methodological tasks in this area may be that they channel creative activity into a critical appraisal of the content and effect of professional practice. Nonetheless, the challenge ahead is our ability to demonstrate experimentally that these activities do indeed improve the quality of care.