Quality indicators in the health area

> What is a quality indicator in the health area?

For some organizations it can be a little difficult to measure quality, we are always faced with big questions, such as: What is it? How is it done? What is it for? The reality is that everything can be measurable and that is what ensures that we can implement improvements in our management.  

Good results related to quality are reflected in good financial management, as this can be seen to have a significant impact on a medical center's finances. However, when quality is low, it has an impact on increasing costs. 

If you are wondering: what is a quality indicator in the health area? We can define it as a tool that makes it possible to measure a health condition, an event or a practice, which also generates and provides a valid evaluation . It is important to keep in mind that two or more dimensions of the quality of care of a health service must be measured.

Likewise, the indicators provide us with information and data that can be comparable and usable at different scales, such as: (geographical location, organization or administrative entity), which allows us to monitor progress over time.

Health quality indicators

There are different types of metrics, here are some examples of indicators, which we will divide into three types: 

Security: 

• Number of errors
• Complication rate
• Percentage of abandonment

Effectiveness, efficiency and punctuality: 

• Readmission rate
• Diseases contracted at the medical center
• Average number of minutes of surgeries
• Average length of stay
• Patient waiting times in the process

Relationship with the patient:

• Frequency of patient/physician communications
• Number of complaints 
• Overall satisfaction 
• Employee training hours
• Patient/staff relationship
• Occupancy rate

The indicators mentioned above are examples, which can serve as a guide in your process, remember also to add technological tools that allow you to facilitate some of the tasks and even help you to measure certain indicators.

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