Health Quality Alberta has released a renewed, evidence-based definition for healthcare quality, marking the first update to this important concept in nearly 20 years. The definition includes seven dimensions of quality: people-centred, accessible and timely, safe, equitable, integrated, effective, and efficient and sustainable.
Health Quality Alberta has also expanded the meaning of “safe care” to include all forms of safety, not just physical safety.
The updated quality dimensions replace their Alberta Quality Matrix for Health, which was adopted in 2005. The quality dimensions revise the common definition of quality as seen at the centre of an integrated, people-centred health system. The update brings together input from system partners across Alberta—including ACP, patient advisors, and communities—along with insights from leading frameworks in use within and beyond Alberta and Canada.
For more information about the updated definition of healthcare quality, including how to apply this in pharmacy practice, please visit the Health Quality Alberta website.
