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What is Quality Healthcare anyway?

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Quality healthcare is composed of six dimensions.  Patient Safety is the first dimension of quality. Patient Centeredness, Timeliness and Clinical Effectiveness follow closely behind.  Equitability and Efficiency round out the equation. According to AHRQ: "Safe: Avoiding harm to patients from the care that is intended to help them. Effective: Providing services based on scientific knowledge to all who could benefit and refraining from providing services to those not likely to benefit (avoiding underuse and misuse, respectively). Patient-centered: Providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions. Timely: Reducing waits and sometimes harmful delays for both those who receive and those who give care. Efficient: Avoiding waste, including waste of equipment, supplies, ideas, and energy. Equitable: Providing care that does not vary in quality because of personal