Chapter I provides introductory material. Chapter II describes the role of the state, Medicare, and voluntary national organizations in assuring quality of health care in the Commonwealth. Chapter III provides specific information on the Commonwealth's efforts to regulate managed care and recent changes resulting from Act 199868. Chapter IV describes the Department of Public Welfare's waiver requiring individuals with special needs to receive medical assistance through HealthChoices managed care plans and the Department's efforts to assure quality care for these individuals. In the United States, there is no single point of accountability for assuring quality health care.
Responsibility is a shared professional and public responsibility.
Professional providers, the parties closest to the delivery of health care, typically see themselves as the parties most responsible for the quality of health care. Their voluntary commitment to meet high standards of professional care has long been the primary means of assuring quality health care. State and federal agencies, as well as national voluntary accreditation organizations, also play major roles in assuring quality of care. The Role of Commonwealth Agencies Several Commonwealth departments and agencies participate in health care quality assurance. State licensing boards within the Department of State license individual practitioners such as physicians and registered nurses.