Quality in other areas of our lives can be subjective, so as it relates to our nursing practice, how do we specifically ensure that quality is clearly defined and measurable?

Tools for measuring quality are used to assess the value measured, collected, or compared. These tools allow for subjectivity to be replaced with objectivity through data, formula, ranking, and analysis.

For this Assignment, you will explore at least three rate-based measures of quality. You will deconstruct each measure to explore your understanding of the it, including its importance and its impact on patient safety, the cost of healthcare, and the overall quality of healthcare.

The Assignment: (8–10 pages)

• Describe the three rate-based measures of quality you selected, and explain why.
• Deconstruct each measure to include the following:
  • Describe the definition of the measure.
  • Explain the numerical description of how the measure is constructed (the numerator/denominator measure counts, the formula used to construct the rate, etc.).
  • Explain how the data for this measure are collected.
  • Describe how the measurement is compared externally to other like settings, and differentiate between the actual rate and a percentile ranking. Be specific.
  • Explain whether the measure is risk adjusted or not. If so, explain briefly how this is accomplished.
  • Describe how goals might be set for each measure in an aggressive organization, which is seeking to excel in the marketplace. Be specific and provide examples.
• Describe the importance of each measure to a chosen clinical organization and setting.
  • Using the websites and resources you can choose a hospital, a nursing home, a home health agency, a dialysis center, a health plan, an outpatient clinic, or private office. A total population of patient types is also acceptable, but please be specific as to the setting. That is, if you are interested in patients with chronic illness across the continuum of care, you might home in a particular health plan, a multispecialty practice setting or a healthcare organization with both inpatient and outpatient/clinic settings. 
  • Note: Faculty appointments and academic settings are not permitted for this exercise. For all other settings, consult the Instructor for guidance. You do not need actual data from a given organization to complete this Assignment. 
• Explain how each measure you selected relates to patient safety, to the cost of poor quality, and to the overall cost of healthcare delivery. Be specific and provide examples.