Application of quality measurement and performance standards to public health systems: Washington State's approach.
To date, there have been few points of intersection between the quality work done in the general health system and performance review in the public health system. This article describes Washington State's set of performance standards for public health, the accreditation-type evaluation process, and some of the results of the recent performance evaluation against the Washington State Standards. Taking action on the evaluation results could enhance the capacity of public health to join general health systems in Washington State to address several of the priority areas described in Transforming Health Care Quality, the 2003 Institute of Medicine Report.
Mauer
Barbara J
BJ
Strategic and Organizational Planning, MCPP Healthcare Consulting, 414 Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98101-1122, USA. Barbara@mcpphc.com
Mason
Marlene
M
Brown
Bruce
B
D000068:Accreditation; D003625:Data Collection; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014861:Washington