Significance of system approach in health system quality assessment
Abstract
Abstract: Quality is a concept that defines a value-dependent judgement about a certain object or phenomenon under consideration. Quality assessment is a process, showing the level of accordance between quality criteria of the reviewer/-s (customers, clients, stakeholders) and actual attributes of products, services or systems. Quality assessment therefore always contains subjective values of the reviewer/-s. This also means, that some differences in quality assessment of dimensions, elements and processes of health system and health system as a whole are inevitable and legitimate and indicates the need for focusing essential attention to such differences in the origins of projecting of systems for quality assessment and in the management of different aspects of quality within the health system. Nevertheless, a certain degree of »common validity« of definitions, criteria, indicators and reference values (quality standards) is needed to create an effective quality assessment model. The complex nature of the quality concept demands systemic, interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach and use of qualitative and quantitative methods of scientific work either in health sistem quality assessment or in the process of creation of health quality systems. Every health quality system modelling should also consider environmental influences upon the estimated system.
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References
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