Health Care Quality Measure and Outcome Management
Healthcare quality and performance metrics are foundational concepts in the delivery of health services. This book aims to introduce these binding terms, their importance in the healthcare landscape, and how they contribute to the betterment of health outcomes for patients. Health care quality, in its most essential sense, refers to the degree to which health services increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge. It is a multi-dimensional concept encompassing various aspects such as safety, effectiveness, timeliness, efficiency, equity, and patient-centeredness. Safety ensures that the risk of harm to patients during the provision of health care is minimized. It is a fundamental principle of health care quality and requires actively reducing risk in clinical processes. Effectiveness refers to providing care based on evidence and results in improved health outcomes for the patient. Timeliness of care emphasizes the reduction