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Measuring quality in arthritis care: methods for developing the Arthritis Foundation's quality indicator set
Catherine H MacLean1, Kenneth G Saag, Daniel H Solomon
1RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California and University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, USA. maclean@rand.org
Arthritis and Rheumatism
|April 13, 2004
Summary
Researchers developed 51 quality measures for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and pain medication use. These validated indicators will help assess and improve patient care quality.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Pain Management
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Assessing health care quality is crucial for conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Existing quality measures may not fully capture the nuances of arthritis care and pain management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a robust set of explicit process measures for evaluating health care quality.
- Focus areas include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and the appropriate use of analgesics.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature review identified potential quality indicators and supporting evidence.
- A multidisciplinary expert panel utilized a modified RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method.
- The panel assessed the validity of proposed measures for assessing health care quality.
Main Results:
- Out of 66 proposed indicators, 51 were validated by the expert panel.
- Validated measures include 14 for osteoarthritis, 27 for rheumatoid arthritis, and 10 for analgesics use.
Conclusions:
- There is substantial evidence and expert agreement supporting these quality measures.
- The developed measures provide a framework for understanding and improving arthritis care quality.