Aligning quality for populations and patients: do we know which way to go?
Both the medical care and public health systems have invested considerable resources to define, measure, and improve quality and health outcomes. A movement toward accountability has generated performance indicators from the medical arena and "leading health indicators" from the public health arena. The focus on specific conditions by the medical care system has been at odds with public health's emphasis on improving population health and has perpetuated a bifurcated system. Aligning the goals of medical care with those of public health will require reformulation of performance measurement and accountability into a common language that is valued by both systems. Such a creation would amount to a whole that is stronger than the sum of the component parts.
Lubetkin
Erica Ilene
EI
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, City University of New York Medical School, New York, NY 10031, USA. lubetkin@med.cuny.edu
Sofaer
Shoshanna
S
Gold
Marthe R
MR
Berger
Marc L
ML
Murray
James F
JF
Teutsch
Steven M
SM
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008330:Management Audit; D015279:Organizational Culture; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000592:standards*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012941:Social Responsibility; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014481:United States