Quality assurance for hospital pharmacy. Part I: Basic concepts

The basic concepts of quality assurance are discussed as they apply to hospital pharmacy practice. The terms norm, criteria, standard, structure assessment,process assessment, and outcome assement are defined. The interrelationships among the following five steps in the quality assurance cycle are reviewed: definition of quality, quality assessment, education and change, redefinition of quality, and reassessment of quality. Finally, the importance of research in the quality assurance process is discussed.