Overview of Quality - Quality

uality improvement is at the forefront of health care—especially as public demand for accountability intensifies. For this reason, the ABIM Foundation encourages and promotes the involvement of physicians in quality measurement and improvement – both in practice and patient care outcomes.

However, physicians may not embrace the theory or practice of quality improvement if they believe related measurement strategies to be burdensome. Recognizing this, the ABIM Foundation’s quality-related work balances the legitimate needs of those who promote accountability with measurement and improvement strategies that are relevant to physicians and other stakeholders. Several projects supported by the Foundation are designed to evaluate these strategies to increase physician acceptance and engagement.

If quality is to be rewarded, it will have to be measured; and the data will need to be more accessible than they are now. Physicians should take the lead in making care more transparent. This will mean balancing issues of ethics, fairness, accountability and confidentiality.

Anne-Marie Audet, MD, et al. Assistant Vice President for Quality Improvement, The Commonwealth Fund

"Measure, Learn, and Improve: Physicians Involvement in Quality Improvement." Health Affairs. (2005) vol24, no.3, pp. 843-853.