Surveillance for quality assessment: III. The critical assessment of quality indicators.
Increased attention to healthcare quality issues by insurers, the public and providers has created the desire for quantitative indicators of high quality care. Attributes of quality indicators, including primary and secondary definitions, predictive accuracy and potential to define avoidable problems in care, have been discussed in an effort to allow the reader to critique suggested quality indicators as they appear through legislation and the literature. A continuous feedback process between reviewers and reviewees in the quality assessment process is mandatory to optimize the performance of quality indicators.
Department of Quality Assurance, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Connecticut 06504.
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Hierholzer
D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004282:Documentation; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D010380:Peer Review; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity