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The Development of Indicators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2023

Michael D. Decker
Michael D. Decker*
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive Medicine and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
*
Department of Epidemiology, Saint Thomas Hospital, 4220 Harding Road, Nashville, TN 37205
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Extract

The standards set by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (ICAHO) and published annually in the Accrediting Manual for Hospitals (AMH) define the framework within which most hospitals conduct their quality assurance (QA) and utilization review (UR) activities. The process known as “monitoring and evaluation,” reviewed here in May, forms a central component of many of these standards. The monitoring and evaluation process, in turn, depends on the identification of “clinical indicators.” The JCAHO has stated that a clinical indicator is “a quantitative measure that can be used as a guide to monitor and evaluate the quality of important patient care and support service activities. An indicator is not a direct measure of quality. Rather, it is a screen or flag that identifies or directs attention to specific performance issues that should be the subject of more intense review”.

Type
Novel Applications for Hospital Epidemiology
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 12 , Issue 8 , August 1991 , pp. 490 - 492
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1991

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References

References

1. 1991 Accreditation Manual for Hospitals. Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.: The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions; 1990.Google Scholar
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Suggested Reading

1. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions. Primer on Indicator Development and Application. Chicago, Ill.: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions; 1990.Google Scholar
2. Fromberg, R The Joint Commission Guide to Quality Assurance. Chicago, Ill.: The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions; 1988.Google Scholar
3. Spath, PL, ed. Innovations in Health Care Quality Measurement. Chicago, Ill.: The American Hospital Association; 1989.Google Scholar