Ear Belle Smith, MD Pittsburgh, Pennsylvan-ia
For the Amercan public, the three most essential ingredients that imfluence the deliverys maintenance, and security of quality health care for individuals and families are: 1. quality of surgical and medical care, 2. costs of health care, and 3. availab'ilitv delivery and utilization of quality health care. TIhe quality of health is directly and indirecdy related to the sensitivities, attitudes, philosophy, commitment, and appearances of the health-care facilities and their employees. Quality of health care also is related to ambulatory care units; physicianse offices; availability of equipment and personnel; physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other health-care provider, collective and verified statistical data on morbidity and mortality of disease categories and all operative procedures; ages of patients; constitutional defects on the health status of patients (particularly those over 60 years of age); and the ethnic-psychologicaleconormic status of the recipients of health care. Notwithstanding the training, credentials, experience, team work capacity, leadership, and humanity of physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other individual professional health-care providers are of paramount importance in the evaluation of health-care quality Dr Smith is former Chief of Surgery, St Francis Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr Earl Belle Smith, St Francis Medical Center, 45th St (off Penn Ave), Pittsburgh, PA 15201. JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 83, NO. 1 1
A data information book on all health-care institutions, physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other individual providers of health care relating to complications, deaths, duration of hospital stay, and medical care costs should be available for the patient's perusal. This information should be updated every 6 months. Despite the fact that there are reasonable minimal medical standards and guidelines for certification by the federal and state governments, agencies, associations, and societies, there are loopholes in the system that deter quality medical care for all Americans regardless of ethnic origin, color, income, or station in life. It would be reniiss not to emphatically state that the trials and tribulations of the US judicial system for healthcare providers and organizations have not fundamentally improved the availability and quality of the health-care system for Americans. The medical malpractice system has been one of the primary reasons for the high and increasing health-care costs. It is significant that in many advanced foreig countries, the quality and availability of health care for their people have exceeded our statistics without the high cost of medical malpractice. A health urgency has arisen in the United States with millions of Americans either underinsured or uninsured. The health status of millions of US citizens, including children, is appalling, and there is obstructing debate of who is going to pay for the cost of a program that guarantees quality health care for all Amenrcans. 945
For the Amercan public, the three most essential ingredients that imfluence the deliverys maintenance, and security of quality health care for individuals and families are: 1. quality of surgical and medical care, 2. costs of health care, and 3. availab'ilitv delivery and utilization of quality health care. TIhe quality of health is directly and indirecdy related to the sensitivities, attitudes, philosophy, commitment, and appearances of the health-care facilities and their employees. Quality of health care also is related to ambulatory care units; physicianse offices; availability of equipment and personnel; physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other health-care provider, collective and verified statistical data on morbidity and mortality of disease categories and all operative procedures; ages of patients; constitutional defects on the health status of patients (particularly those over 60 years of age); and the ethnic-psychologicaleconormic status of the recipients of health care. Notwithstanding the training, credentials, experience, team work capacity, leadership, and humanity of physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other individual professional health-care providers are of paramount importance in the evaluation of health-care quality Dr Smith is former Chief of Surgery, St Francis Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr Earl Belle Smith, St Francis Medical Center, 45th St (off Penn Ave), Pittsburgh, PA 15201. JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 83, NO. 1 1
A data information book on all health-care institutions, physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other individual providers of health care relating to complications, deaths, duration of hospital stay, and medical care costs should be available for the patient's perusal. This information should be updated every 6 months. Despite the fact that there are reasonable minimal medical standards and guidelines for certification by the federal and state governments, agencies, associations, and societies, there are loopholes in the system that deter quality medical care for all Americans regardless of ethnic origin, color, income, or station in life. It would be reniiss not to emphatically state that the trials and tribulations of the US judicial system for healthcare providers and organizations have not fundamentally improved the availability and quality of the health-care system for Americans. The medical malpractice system has been one of the primary reasons for the high and increasing health-care costs. It is significant that in many advanced foreig countries, the quality and availability of health care for their people have exceeded our statistics without the high cost of medical malpractice. A health urgency has arisen in the United States with millions of Americans either underinsured or uninsured. The health status of millions of US citizens, including children, is appalling, and there is obstructing debate of who is going to pay for the cost of a program that guarantees quality health care for all Amenrcans. 945
