title: Measuring quality in hospitals: is there a difference between for-profits and not-for-profits?
abstract: Health care professionals agree that by measuring quality, improvements can be made in care delivery. There are measurable differences between not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals, both in public perception and care outcomes. The ability by consumers, insurers and providers to easily access quality data will drive the health care industry to take a quality focus in their daily business. Quality providers with measurable results will gain a larger share of health care dollars and consumer trust. Physicians will choose to partner with the quality leaders and will refine their practices as part of the quality evolution.
authors.affiliation: Executive Master's in Public Health Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huffman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D017721:Hospital Costs; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006777:Hospitals, Proprietary / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D009017:Morbidity; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology