A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Q

Quality of care

A health system should seek to make improvements in six areas or dimensions of quality, which are named and described below. These dimensions require that health care be:

• effective, delivering health care that is adherent to an evidence base and results in improved health outcomes for individuals and communities, based on need;
  
• efficient, delivering health care in a manner which maximizes resource use and avoids waste;
  
• accessible, delivering health care that is timely, geographically reasonable, and provided in a setting where skills and resources are appropriate to medical need;
  
• acceptable/patient-centred, delivering health care which takes into account the preferences and aspirations of individual service users and the cultures of their communities;
  
• equitable, delivering health care which does not vary in quality because of personal characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, geographical location, or socioeconomic status;
  
• safe, delivering health care which minimizes risks and harm to service users.
  

http://www.who.int/management/quality/assurance/QualityCare_B.Def.pdf  (manual)
The degree to which delivered health services meet established professional standards and are judged to be of value to the consumer. Quality may also be seen as the degree to which actions taken or not taken maximize the probability of beneficial health outcomes and minimize risk and other outcomes, given the existing state of medical science and art.

Quality of life

The product of the interplay between social, health, economic and environmental conditions which affect human and social development. It is a broad-ranging concept, incorporating a person’s physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and relationship to salient features in the environment. A person’s quality of life is largely determined by their ability to access needed resources and maintain autonomy and independence.