Quality Measurement Proposal
The focus of quality measurements is, generally, care processes or structures having an established relationship with positive healthcare outcomes, and being under the healthcare system's control. The technical definition of quality measures provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is: a mechanism for assigning quantity to care quality through comparison to some criterion. One can apply quality measures to the evaluation of managed care organizations, healthcare providers, health programs/plans, and hospitals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012).
Healthcare quality measurement denotes a process of utilizing data for the purpose of performance assessment of healthcare professionals and health plans against accepted quality standards. There are many forms a quality measure may assume. These measures assess healthcare across the entire array of care settings, right from hospital systems to physician offices and imaging facilities (Families USA, 2014).
Measurement of healthcare quality is an essential step in the improvement of care quality. Quite often, substandard care is delivered to patients in the U.S. Quality measurement may be employed in the improvement of American healthcare delivery through: 1) Determination of what is helpful and what isn't, for driving healthcare improvements; 2) Prevention of misuse, overuse, and underuse health services and assurance of patient safety; 3) Accountability of healthcare providers and health insurance schemes in providing superior quality patient care; 4) Assistance to healthcare consumers (i.e. patients) in making informed care-related choices; and 5) Measurement...
Structure measures include healthcare facility staffing, healthcare worker capabilities, resource availability in healthcare organizations, and policy environment of care delivery settings. For instance, do ICUs (intensive care units) have critical care professionals on hand round the clock? Regulators and insurance firms frequently utilize structure measures for ascertaining if a provider possesses necessary capacities for delivering superior quality care (e.g., whether a healthcare facility has an electronic system for ordering prescription drugs). The healthcare field also widely employs structure measures in the accreditation or certification of health providers and plans (Families USA, 2014).
Process Measures
Process measures are employed in ascertaining how far healthcare providers consistently offer specific services to patients that are in line with recommended care guidelines. They are often linked to treatments or procedures recognized as having the capacity to prevent further health issues or complications, and enhance patient health status. In most scenarios, assessment of whether a healthcare professional meets process measure requirements is very clear: Were patients delivered recommended care? Process measures prove valuable as they offer providers straightforward, actionable feedback as well as an easy means…
