title: Improving methods for measuring quality of care: a patient-centered approach in chronic disease.
abstract: As health care systems seek to provide patient-centered care as a cornerstone of quality, how to measure this aspect of quality has become a concern. Previous development of quality indicators for treating individual chronic disease has rarely included patient perspectives on quality of care. Using epilepsy as an exemplar, the authors sought to develop an approach to measuring patient-centered quality of care. They conducted six focus groups with adults with epilepsy. Using qualitative methods, the authors initially identified 10 patient-generated quality indicators, 5 of which were subsequently rated, along with literature-based quality indicators, by an expert panel using a modified RAND appropriateness methodology. The authors discuss similarities and differences in aspects of care patients and providers value as essential for good quality. The process presented in this article may serve as a model for incorporating patient perceptions of quality into the future development of quality indicators for chronic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Bokhour
authors.forename: Mary Jo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pugh
authors.forename: Jaya K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Ruzan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Avetisyan
authors.forename: Dan R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Berlowitz
authors.forename: Lewis E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kazis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000592:standards*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*