HIGH QUALITY MEDICAL CARE

High quality care is the care given to a particular patient under particular circumstances by a compassionate and competent physician who has access to consultants and the best current information, who is not influenced by economic incentives to do more or less than is medically appropriate, and who is committed to serve the patient’s best interests guided by the latter’s wishes and medical needs. This definition emphasizes the physician’s key role in allocating medical resources and preserving standards of quality.

 

– Arnold S Relman