Question

• What are some key identifiers used in health care to determine quality? Explain each one.
• Which identifier do you believe is most valuable? Why?

Answer 1

Ans) Quality Indicators (QIs) are st andardized, evidence-based measures of health care quality that can be used with readily available hospital inpatient administrative data to measure and track clinical performance and outcomes. Highlight potential quality improvement areas. Track changes over time.

Seven Healthcare Outcome Measures Explained
- Mortality:Mortality is an essential population health outcome measure.

- Safety of Care:Safety of care outcome measures pertain to medical mistakes.

- Readmissions- Patient Experience:

Readmission following hospitalization is a common outcome measure. Readmission is costly and often preventable.

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) fall within the patient experience outcome measure category. According to the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), PROMs “assess the patient’s experience and perception of their healthcare. This information can provide a more realistic gauge of patient satisfaction as well as real-time information for local service improvement and to enable a more rapid response to identified issues.

- Effectiveness of Care:

Effectiveness of care outcome measures evaluate two things:

Compliance with best practice care guidelines.
Achieved outcomes (e.g., lower readmission rates for heart failure patients).

- Timeliness of Care:

Timeliness of care outcome measures assess patient access to care. Overcrowding in the emergency department has been associated with increased inpatient mortality, increased length of stay, and increased costs for admitted patients.

- Efficient Use of Medical Imaging:

The efficient use of medical imaging is an increasingly important outcome measure. According to the European Science Foundation, “Medical imaging plays a central role in the global healthcare system as it contributes to improved patient outcome and more cost-efficient healthcare in all major disease entities.”