title: The role of the ECHO model in outcomes research and clinical practice improvement.
abstract: In the articles that follow in this Special Report supplement to The American Journal of Managed Care, the reader will note that various types of outcomes--humanistic and economic, as well as clinical--are measured to achieve a balanced picture of the comprehensive impact of the healthcare interventions implemented. Clinical research has only recently evolved to a state in which a balanced-systems approach to outcomes measurement is moving to the forefront. It is therefore important to understand the historical context of the outcomes movement within which the multidimensional approach developed. A description of this historical context is provided below, followed by an overview of the ECHO (Economic, Clinical, and Humanistic Outcomes) Model and case examples of the balance-of-outcomes model as implemented in a large integrated delivery system.
authors.affiliation: Lovelace Clinic Foundation, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gunter
mesh_terms: D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration; D019468:Disease Management; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009516:New Mexico; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States