Quality of Care for Cancer and AIDS

Abstract

This paper addresses the Quality of Care that we provide for patients, and see how it relates to Quality of Life (QoL). Clearly any health care that is provided for the individual must have as its basic motivation the restoration of that person as near to full health as possible. In the case of my own specialty, the care of the dying, this is of course not possible, and endeavours in that direction are fruitless. Our measurement of Care Outcome, therefore, can not have a defined clinical endpoint such as cure, but must rather turn to facets of the individual that have been favourably influenced by our interventions. This will of course include clinical factors such as symptom control. Unless we are able to demonstrate improvement in our patients, and for the benefit of our funders provide some kind of measurement, we are not in a position to defend what we do, or to claim that work is of value. With respect to all patients, but the dying in particular, QoL is of the essence, and should be the predominent motivation that our management has in driving it.