The process of outcomes management in an acute care facility

Outcomes reports evaluate the care given to a patient population. The establishment of a system to collect, analyze, and report outcomes is essential because regulatory agencies require that comparisons of outcomes be made externally. The outcomes manager at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center facilitated a team to evaluate the patient in active labor. The focus was to establish a process of care that would maintain quality of care and decrease the cesarean section rate. Cesarean section rate went from 22 percent to 16 percent. Customer satisfaction scores were elevated and financial outcomes or cost savings were $631,000 in 1998.