You deserve quality health care

The right care at the right time for the right reasons.

Getting quality health care can help you stay healthy and recover faster when you become sick. However, we know that often people do not get high-quality care. A study by the Rand Group found that people in the Seattle area received the appropriate level of care only 41 percent of the time.

What exactly is health care quality? We know that quality means different things to different people. Some people think that getting quality health care means seeing the doctor right away, being treated courteously by the doctor's staff, or having the doctor spend a lot of time with them.

While these things are important to all of us, clinical quality of care is even more important. Think of it like this: getting quality health care is like taking your car to a mechanic. The people in the shop can be friendly and listen to your complaints, but the most important thing is whether they fix the problem with your car.

Health care providers, the government, and many other groups are working hard to improve health care quality. You also have a role to play to make sure you and your family members receive the best quality care possible.

The single, most important thing you can do to ensure you get high-quality health care is to find and use health information and take an active role in making decisions about your care.

Here are some steps you can take to improve your care:

• Work together with your doctor and other members of the health care team to make decisions about your care.
• Be sure to ask questions. (Examples of questions to ask your doctor are online.)
• Ask your doctor what the scientific evidence has to say about your condition.
• Do your homework; go online or to the library to find out more information about your condition.
• Find and use quality information in making health care choices. Be sure the information comes from a reliable source.

Research has shown that science-based measures can be used to assess quality for various conditions and for specific types of care. For example, quality health care is:

• Doing the right thing (getting the health care services you need)
• At the right time (when you need them)
• In the right way (using the appropriate test or procedure)
• To achieve the best possible results.

Providing quality health care also means striking the right balance of services by:

• Avoiding underuse (for example, failing to screen a person for high blood pressure).
• Avoiding overuse (for example, performing tests that a patient doesn't need).
• Eliminating misuse (for example, providing medications that may have dangerous interactions).

We would like to think that every doctor, nurse, pharmacist, hospital, and other provider gives high-quality care, but we know this is not always the case. Quality varies depending on where you live. Quality can vary from one state to another, and it can vary from one doctor's office across the street to another. Health care quality varies widely and for many reasons.

For example, timely receipt of clot-busting drugs can save lives for patients suffering heart attacks. The national standard for providing clot-busting drugs is within 30 minutes of a patient's arrival at the hospital. But we know that this varies widely across states, from a low of 20 minutes in one state to a high of 140 minutes in another.

One way to assess and track quality of care is by using measures that are based on the latest scientific evidence. A health care measure clearly defines which health care services should be provided to patients who have or are at risk for certain conditions. Measures also set standards for screening, immunizations, and other preventive care. See the side bar of this article for sources of information on science based measures of care.