Quality and quality assurance in the health care setting: an equitable life?

Research studies alluding to quality and quality assurance within the health care arena are increasingly utilized to justify management initiatives, particularly in relation to the provision and resourcing of patient services, both within the institutional and community setting. The following paper considers the role and utility of quality indicators and presents a critical analysis of the literature pertaining to the concept of quality as it applies to the provision and organization of health care and the relationship between quality assurance and patient satisfaction per se. The paper concludes with a dual challenge not only to nurses to better understand and articulate the specific contribution of the discipline, particularly in relation to positive patient outcomes, but also to current, narrow focused interpretations of quality assurance and calls for definitions of quality to reflect an appreciation of the particular involvement and role of the patient in determining policy affecting care provision.