Quality of care
Quality of care is a cornerstone of universal health coverage, which argues for universal access to essential, high-quality and effective health care services that protect patients from financial hardship. It is critical to ensure that evidence-based health care services are provided on time to all those in need of care throughout their life course by maximizing the benefit of available resources and avoiding waste.
Quality health care can be defined in many ways but there is growing acknowledgement that quality health services across the world should be:
- effective, by providing evidence-based health care services to those who need them
- safe, by avoiding harm to people for whom the care is intended
- people-centred, by providing care that responds to individual preferences, needs and values.
In addition, in order to realize the benefits of quality health care, health services must be:
- timely, by reducing waiting times and sometimes harmful delays for both those who receive and those who give care;
- equitable, by providing care that does not vary in quality on account of age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, geographical location, religion, socioeconomic status, linguistic or political affiliation;
- integrated, by providing care that is coordinated across levels and providers and makes available the full range of health services throughout the life course; and
- efficient, by maximizing the benefit of available resources and avoiding waste.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) urge countries to achieve universal health coverage. However, in many settings, providing quality care remains a significant challenge while inadequate quality results in avoidable mortality, human suffering and significant economic losses.
In the WHO European Region, there is significant room for improvement. Issues such as fragmentation, poor continuity, supply‐induced overconsumption, underuse and inappropriate use, suboptimal effectiveness, and concerns about patient safety are still prevalent across the Region.
Quality impacts governance, financing mechanisms, the health workforce and facilities, information systems, medicines and technology and, most importantly, access within health systems. As health systems continue to face rising health challenges in the Region, countries are struggling to maintain resilience. The focus on quality of care is more important than ever and the need for action is clear – quality needs to be placed at the core of health systems and prioritized.
Under the European Programme of Work (EPW) 2020–2025 – ‘United Action for Better Health in Europe’, the WHO Quality of Care and Patient Safety Office in Athens (Greece) supports countries in improving the overall quality of care in health systems by assisting them to:
- enhance clinical practice at the frontline
- set standards
- engage and empower patients, families and communities
- provide information and education for health care workers, managers and policy-makers
- utilize continuous quality improvement methods and tools
- establish performance‐based incentives, legislation and regulation frameworks.
The WHO Quality of Care and Patient Safety Office in Athens aims to support countries to achieve the highest level of well-being, health and health protection in line with the SDGs to build safe, qualitative, effective and resilient health systems.