Healthcare Quality
What is quality health care? How do we know if we are receiving quality care? We know that quality health care helps patients stay healthier and receive more effective medical care if sick. While each patient may have a different perspective on what quality means, including the ability to quickly get an appointment, or being treated courteously by the doctor's staff, the quality of the clinical care provided is a key component of care.
National standards and performance measures have been developed by organizations, including the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), to measure clinical quality and allow patients to compare practices. These include screening measures and clinical care outcome measures:
- Screening measures include tests that provide clinicians with clinical information, like cholesterol testing done in patients with cardiovascular disease. Getting screening testing done at identified intervals provides clinicians with the opportunity to monitor the patient's care and work with the patient to manage the results of those tests in an effective manner.
- Outcome measures describe results. Managing the results of these important screening tests (for example, controlling the LDL cholesterol in a patient with cardiovascular disease to < 100) can help improve patient health outcomes. Evidence-based medicine tells us that controlling cholesterol in these patients has been shown to decrease the risk of future cardiac disease and strokes.
Clinical outcomes are very important measures. While these measures might not be publicly reported, Atrius Health is committed to monitoring and improving these chronic disease outcomes for its patients.
Patients can use these quality measurement tools to compare doctor's practices. Also, health care organizations and policy makers can use these tools to identify opportunities for improvement. Reporting of quality performance has led to streamlined health care processes, improved operations, and better patient engagement in their care.
Here at Atrius Health, we continuously measure and review our performance in order to improve the way we deliver care. Listed on the right are some key quality measures. By clicking on each link, you can view how the Atrius Health practices compare to national and state performance on each topic that is listed.
The data included in each graph indicates the year in which the data was collected. The Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) 2010 Quality Insights report reflects the prior year’s data. |
