Question

describe the difference between process and outcome measures. Discuss why these are important to the evaluation of piblic health programs and intervention

Answer 1

OUTCOME MEASURES

These are the high-level clinical or financial outcomes that concern healthcare organizations. They are the quality and cost targets you are targeting for improvement. These measures are often reported to government and commercial payers. Some examples of metrics for outcome measures include mortality rates, readmission rates, and surgical site infection rates.

* Outcome measures reflect the impact of the health care service or intervention on the health status of patients. For example : The percentage of patients who died as a result of surgery (surgical mortality rates).

* Outcome measures indicate the results of a process, such as if a patient's condition improved or worsened after receiving a specific service.

* Outcome measures include quality indicators such as medication adherence, blood pressure control in COPD patients, and surgery induced mortality rates.

PROCESS MEASURES

Process measures are the evidence-based best practices that represent a health system's efforts to systematize its improvement efforts. These measures are the specific steps in a process that lead - either positively or negatively - to a particular outcome metric.

Both Process and Outcome measures indicate the quality of health plans and can help determine if payer strategies for providing cost-effective quality healthcare are succeeding. Payers looking to improve their population health management capabilities can determine if strategies such as adjusting the pricing of chronic disease treatments led to more processes and improved patients outcomes. Process and quality measures also reflect if payers are effectively identifying beneficiaries at risk for chronic diseases and other high - cost conditions.

Process measures can determine the volume at which cost-effective preventive services are performed, while Outcome measures give a payer insight into the relationship between preventive services and healthier outcomes.

Both Process and Outcome measurements present an opportunity for payers to further develop population health insights and improve care quality for their beneficiaries.