Evaluación de la Calidad en Salud en la Medicina Familiar y en la Atención Primaria en Iberoamérica

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of the concept and the assessment of Quality in Primary Care, under the perspective of Family and Community Medicine (FCM). The study was based on texts reading, discussion in a working-group, and a survey with the application of a semi-structured questionnaire to FCM and other professionals from 19 countries. Information about PC services, as well as the perception of its evaluation processes, including those related to permanent education, motivation and work overload was obtained. The results suggest that the quality assessment of PC in Iberoamerica is still a very incipient process. In addition, with the exception of a few countries, there is not even a universal PC with FCM in the health teams. Considering the principles and practices of the FCM, it seems that there is a limitation of the instruments commonly used to evaluate the quality in PC. It is concluded that to achieve a better quality assessment in order to conduct continuous improvements in the PC services, it is necessary to include indicators related to the concepts and tools of FCM. Considering the competences of the FCM, a quality concept in PC is proposed and dimensions to be included in the evaluation processes are indicated.