Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Mar;93(3):406-11.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.3.406.

Aligning quality for populations and patients: do we know which way to go?

Affiliations

Aligning quality for populations and patients: do we know which way to go?

Erica Ilene Lubetkin et al. Am J Public Health. 2003 Mar.

Abstract

Both the medical care and public health systems have invested considerable resources to define, measure, and improve quality and health outcomes. A movement toward accountability has generated performance indicators from the medical arena and "leading health indicators" from the public health arena. The focus on specific conditions by the medical care system has been at odds with public health's emphasis on improving population health and has perpetuated a bifurcated system. Aligning the goals of medical care with those of public health will require reformulation of performance measurement and accountability into a common language that is valued by both systems. Such a creation would amount to a whole that is stronger than the sum of the component parts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Mills RJ. Health Insurance Coverage: 2000. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau; 2001. Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-215.pdf. Accessed October 28, 2002.
    1. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. Conference ed, 2 vol. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; January2000. Available at: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople. Accessed October 28, 2002.
    1. Lohr KN, ed. Medicare: A Strategy for Quality Assurance. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1990.
    1. HEDIS 2002 Narrative: What’s in It and Why It Matters. Washington, DC: National Committee for Quality Assurance; 2002.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ten great public health achievements—United States, 1900–1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999;48:241–243. - PubMed

Publication types