In psychology and medicine, in general, there is a tool known as Outcome Measurement which is designed to measure the change in the health of either an individual or a group of individuals, which can be attributed to interventions such as medical treatment. The most common outcome measurement tools are:
- Mortality
- Safety of Care
- Readmission
- Patient Experience
Measure 1: Mortality
This is critical for population care. If there is a medical issue, the mortality rate needs to be measured, and of course, the improvement of the mortality rate also needs to be taken into account.
Measure 2: Safety of Care
Unfortunately, medical mistakes do happen from time to time, and as such, the safety of care is a valuable outcome measurement tool. Some of the most common problems include skin breakdown, bacterial infection, and many other issues that need to be addressed.
Measure 3: Readmissions
This is a measure for a few reasons, the primary one being that it dictates how well the care is working. If a patient is being readmitted, then something went wrong somewhere in the process. Also, bear in mind that readmission costs between $25 and $45 billion per year with many of the complications being completely avoidable.
Measure 4: Patient Experience
This is a measure of the patient’s interpretation of their healthcare including how effective it was for them and most importantly, whether or not they were able to have a positive experience. This often falls short of expectations.
Outcome measurement is critical for the improvement of healthcare, and ultimately it will help to provide patients with a far better experience. There are many other tools for analysis, though these are indeed the most important. To better your practice, read up on the rest and put them to work.
