title: Quality assurance programmes and patient safety in anaesthesia.
abstract: Formal Quality Assurance programmes have been widely promoted and applied in anaesthesia departments in the United States of America. The rationale of three well-known programmes is examined. Although they may be of use as a method of examining one's own practice, there is little objective evidence to support the idea of measuring an anaesthesiologist's competence. There is also a danger that licensing authorities will misuse such spurious information.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Zeitlin
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D000761:Anesthesia Department, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000592:standards; D002983:Clinical Competence; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D008007:Licensure, Medical; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards; D012308:Risk Management; D012449:Safety; D014481:United States