醫療品質向來是醫療服務體系中的核心價值之一，品質的評估、確保與持續改進也是各國政府十分重視的工作。本文主要在整理與比較美國與台灣在醫療品質的確保與品質測量的各種努力。從過去發展的演進來看，醫療品質的確保是由醫院評鑑制度開始，其間持續不斷的發展測量指標，來評估、監測醫療品質。接著是醫療專業在成本控制壓力下的自我提升，包括引進企業管理的制度與技術，並訂定以實證為基礎的臨床作業準則，進一步提升醫療品質。最近則發展到讓醫療消費者參與品質的評估以及醫療品質資訊的公開，希望透過資訊提供讓消費者能做明智的選擇，促使醫療專業可以加速品質改善，更符合病人的期望。最後本文亦提出建議供政策參考。

　　　　　Quality of health care is one of the core values in the healthcare delivery system. Many nations have made essential efforts in the assessment, assurance, and improvement of healthcare quality. The purpose of this article is to describe the evolution in healthcare quality improvement and assessment in the United States and in Taiwan. Evidence shows that quality assurance was initially established by implementing a hospital accreditation mechanism; accompanied by continuous development of quality indicators to monitor the quality of healthcare. As the cost-containment pressure increased, health professionals began to adapt industrial management tools and create evidence-based practice guidelines to improve the quality of healthcare. Recent developments include consumer involvement in quality assessment and public disclosure of quality information. It is hoped that the quality information provision will facilitate consumers' choice among providers and accelerate the process of professional quality improvement. Finally, the article provides several recommendations for policy consideration.