Quality Measures

List of Measures

• Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack)
• Adjusted Mortality
• Heart Failure
• Inpatient Pneumonia
• Patient Satisfaction
• Readmission Rates
• Surgical Care Management
• Ventilator Associated Pneumonia
• Warfarin

Measuring Quality

Mayo Clinic believes that measuring quality in health care should involve examining many variables in the delivery of care — the results or outcomes achieved; the compliance with evidence-based processes known to enhance care; the volume of patients successfully treated who have complex diagnoses and procedures; and the safety record of the institution.

Measuring quality should also include a discussion about the level of service that a patient experiences — the amount of time spent with each patient; whether each patient is treated with respect, kindness and dignity by every member of the health care team; whether appointments are on time and that all test results and other patient information are available to every doctor whenever it is needed.

Who is Taking These Measurements?

Many organizations today (some governmental, some private) are measuring quality in health care using varying criteria. Evaluating this information can be difficult and time-consuming since not all measures reflect the same information from one report to another. However, it is important for patients to ask questions and look at quality information to ensure they are getting the efficient and effective care they need.

Looking at Outcomes

One common form of data measures outcomes. This is results-oriented data such as the percentage of patients treated for heart attack who survive (mortality rates), the number of patients who experience infections following surgery (infection rates), or the number of patients readmitted to a hospital following discharge due to complications (readmission rates). These numbers contain very important information for patients. But they are also potentially very confusing because there are a lot of factors that can influence outcomes.

Looking at processes

Another aspect of measuring quality involves examining whether a facility follows specific processes, sometimes called evidence-based processes, known to enhance care. This involves stepping back and examining whether a facility has an organized systematic way of providing all of the appropriate care measures for a specific diagnosis. Are providers giving the right medication at the right time, giving the right therapies, giving the right consultation, giving the right diagnostic studies — for a specific problem? These care measures also provide useful information when evaluating care for critically injured or very ill patients whose chances for recovery are limited.

Setting Goals

Mayo Clinic strives to be in the top tier of performance for all quality measures. Our goals often are set to reach the top 10 percent of performance for particular measures. In other cases, our goals are set to create a significant growth opportunity. We recognize the ongoing need for improvement and continually work on that in all areas of patient care, research and education.