[Different methods for assessing quality in health sector]

AN OBLIGATION: The "management" of quality is an integral part of "medical" management today. The health centers and professionals have to prove their value and know-how through distinct signs of recognition. A METHOD FOR ASSESSING QUALITY: This paper defines the method of assessment of quality and specifies the typology of the persons, organisms, supervisors and clients of the French health system who have a personal or collective interest in judging the quality of health services. DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES: Numerous existing methods for assessing quality are presented together with their use, implementation and the use made by the actors and consumers of the health system. Some of these assessment methods are formal, others informal, some are mandatory, others optional; some concern the general population, others the professionals. Although know-how is essential in health, making it known is strategic today.