Assuring the quality of health care in the European Union : a case for action / / Helena Legido-Quigley ... [et al.]

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910815898903321
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Copenhagen, Denmark, : World Health Organization, c2008
• ISBN: 1-281-93787-8; 9786611937874; 92-890-7194-X
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (241 p.)
• Collana: Observatory studies series Assuring the quality of health care in the European Union
• Altri autori (Persone): Legido-QuigleyHelena
• Disciplina: 362.1094
• Soggetti: Medical care - European Union countries; Public health - European Union countries
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references.
• Nota di contenuto: Intro -- CONTENTS -- List of tables, figures and boxes -- List of abbreviations -- About the authors -- Foreword I: The European experience -- Foreword II: The United States' experience -- Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Chapter 1 Quality of care: an overview -- Quality of care: definitions -- Dimensions of quality of care -- Levels of quality of care -- Assessing quality of care -- Conceptual framework -- Chapter 2 Quality of care strategies in the European Union -- Introduction -- Health systems quality assessment -- Organizational quality assessment -- Clinical quality assessment -- Chapter 3 Patients, quality of care and cross-border care in the European Union -- Introduction -- Methodology -- I: The users of cross-border health care: mobile patients -- II: Patient experiences: different aspects of quality in cross-border care -- III: Mechanisms for ensuring quality of care and communication between providers -- Chapter 4 Policies to promote quality of care in EU Member States -- Introduction -- Methodology -- Austria -- Belgium -- Bulgaria -- Cyprus -- Czech Republic -- Denmark -- Estonia -- Finland -- France -- Germany -- Greece -- Hungary -- Republic of Ireland -- Italy -- Latvia -- Lithuania -- Luxembourg -- Malta -- The Netherlands -- Poland -- Portugal -- Romania -- Slovakia -- Slovenia -- Spain -- ; Sweden -- United Kingdom -- Chapter 5 Conclusions -- Meeting the needs of Europe's citizens -- References.
• Sommario/riassunto: People have always traveled within Europe for work and leisure, although never before with the current intensity. Now, however, they are traveling for many other reasons, including the quest for key services such as health care. Whatever the reason for traveling, one question they ask is 'If I fall ill, will the health care I receive be of a high standard?'. This book examines, for the first time, the systems that have been put in place in all of the European Union's 27 Member States. The picture it paints is mixed. Some have well developed systems, setting standards based on the best available evidence, monitoring the care provided, and taking action where it falls short. Others need to overcome significant obstacles.