Year: 1993
Type: review
Abstract: This is the first of an occasional series of articles in which different health professionals discuss the contribution of their particular specialty to the quality ofpatient care.In the recent debate on the role of the specialty of public health medicine" the stimulation and support of quality improvement in patient care services have received insufficient attention.The disciplines which underpin the practice of public health, particularly epidemiology, statistics, medical informatics, and the management sciences, are highly relevant to improving health care quality.Public health doctors, who represent one of the disciplines within this broad range of expertise, have a vital and legitimate role in contributing to provider led improvement of quality.The role of the specialty in population health status, health needs, and health care needs assessment has been debated.4 5 In this paper we shall discuss the potential influence of the specialty in assessing and improving the quality of health care provision.To an extent this is a false distinction: a provider may deliver coronary artery bypass grafts of the highest quality, but if this treatment is not accessible to people who would benefit then the quality of care to the community is suboptimal.However, in this article we concentrate primarily on the contribution of public health to the quality of provider care.Public health's recent history "Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organised efforts of society."Acheson Report' In 1972 the specialty of community medicine, now public health medicine, was established from three separate groups: the medical officers of health (whose responsibilities included a range of preventive health services at local authority level), senior administrative medical officers, and academics in social medicine and epidemiology, thus merging disease prevention, medical management,
Source: BMJ Quality & Safety
DOI: 10.1136/qshc.2.1.35
Authors: R Thomson, R Bhopal
Institution: Newcastle University
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2006015295