Question

Since the primary care clinic is just starting to measure performance, you don’t want to overwhelm them with too many different measures. So you decide to select one structure measure, two process measures, and two outcome measures. Do some research on the Internet if you are unfamiliar with the types of patients and conditions seen in a primary care clinic.

Post your measures organized as a table (see below) and explain why you chose these measures

category	measure definition	numerator	denominator
structure
process
outcome

Answer 1

#. Structure measures

indirectly assess care. They look at provider characteristics and physical/organizational resources. These measure the capability or potential for providing quality care. Structure measures are static; evaluated at a certain point in time. The facility, operational policies and procedures, technical capabilities, compliance with safety regulations, and competency assessment at the time of initial use are all examples of structure measures.

#. Process measures

focus on patient-provider interactions. Process-oriented measures examine a health care professional's decision-making process as they direct a specific course of treatment. At the organizational level, they might investigate procedures that determine operational decisions. Peer review (physician reviewing physician) of patients records that indicated problems with care or documentation, compliance with discharge planning procedures, and patient waiting time are all examples of process measures. Often times, process measures are used to evaluate compliance with clinical practice guideline recommendations.

#. Outcome measures

look at the end results. A common outcome measure in an acute care facility is mortality rates. Other common measures include patient and family satisfaction, adequate pain control, and adherence to a living will requirement. How many of you remember what the advance directive requirement is? That's right. The Patient Self Determination Act (PSDA) states that most hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and HMO's routinely provide information on advance directive at the same time as admission. This has become routine - have you noticed this question when you or someone you know was being admitted to a facility?