ABSTRACT
Effectiveness refers to the extent to which an intervention produces its intended result. Effectiveness in the context of the quality of healthcare also encompasses the concept of appropriateness, the extent to which interventions or services, based on scientific know ledge, are provided to all those who could benefit and withheld from those who would not (Hurtado et al, 2001). Effectiveness indicators can focus on outcomes such as mortality or survival rates that reflect the success of preventive measures, diagnosis and treatment; or on processes that have been proven to affect those outcomes and can be used as more immediate measures of quality, for example the use of thrombolysis in the treatment of heart attacks.
