The design and use of a health status index for family physicians

This paper describes a Health Status Index (HSI) which is part of a patient encounter form in a family practice center. The Index, which is used to profile a patient's health status longitudinally, combines physical and psychosocial measures of health. Based on its use in the center and through the presentation of data on patient health status, the authors illustrate how the Index can facilitate the evaluation of care and the management of practice. More specifically, they suggest that such data assist physicians in: (1) evaluating the effect of different modes of treatment on the duration and severity of ill-defined symptoms and complaints; (2) identifying high-risk patients for special attention; (3) indicating treatment modalities which produce more desirable outcomes; (4) determining the efficiency of different modes of treatment and of continued care; and (5) addressing chronological, as well as interpersonal and interprofessional, questions of providing continuous care for the chronically ill.