A discussion of the United States’ and Egypt’s health care quality improvement efforts

ABSTRACT

Achieving a high-quality health system is a complicated journey. Countries employ distinct approaches and build upon lessons learned along the way. Several wealthy  industrialized countries have had measurable success advancing the quality of health care provided to their people. In contrast, many developing countries are still endeavoring to identify and implement robust strategies to promote quality health care. By observing the challenges and successes experienced by industrialized nations, developing countries can identify effective methods to advance the quality of their health care systems while avoiding known obstacles. This article describes approaches pursued by the United States and Egypt to advance the quality of their respective health care systems. Contrasting each country's health care initiatives  highlights various quality improvement methods that have been undertaken and how one country’s experience can inform other countries striving to implement similar efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality assurance
• regulation
• accreditation
• payment policy
• health insurance

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Salzburg Global Institute which facilitated the opportunity for the authors to meet, interact, and identify the value of this publication. We also wish to thank Kristen Anton of Dartmouth University's School of Medicine for her generous review and recommendations to enhance the final product.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. All opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the government.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amel Farrag

Amel Farrag is Quality Consultant  at Ministry of Health and Population Egypt. and Lean Six Sigma instructor. Her work   focuses on improving health care delivery. She participated  in establishing Egyptian healthcare accreditation standards,and led many health care improvement projects 

Yael Harris

Yael Harris is Vice President of Health Research at the American Institutes of Research. Her research focuses on supporting health care quality improvement, patient and family engagement, quality measurement, and the use of health information technology to improve access and care coordination for vulnerable populations.