Quality assurance in ambulatory care

Recent cost containment measures have shifted federal and non-federal health care to the ambulatory care setting. This shift of care has increased the need for adequate ambulatory care quality assurance, especially in institutions whose beneficiaries have little or no choice of where they receive their health care. Based on a review of the literature and workshop discussions at the Conference on Ambulatory Care and Education, the needs of ambulatory care quality assurance were divided into four categories: (1) administrative procedures; (2) internal and external quality assessment; (3) data management; and (4) research and education. Following a brief overview of these four areas, potential mechanisms for integrating ambulatory care quality assurance into the ongoing education of faculty, residents, and medical students are presented. The paper concludes by identifying needed areas of research and listing recommendations for integrating ambulatory care quality assurance into medical education.