Improving Methods for Measuring Quality of Care

Abstract

As health care systems seek to provide patient-centered care as a cornerstone of quality, how to measure this aspect of quality has become a concern. Previous development of quality indicators for treating individual chronic disease has rarely included patient perspectives on quality of care. Using epilepsy as an exemplar, the authors sought to develop an approach to measuring patient-centered quality of care. They conducted six focus groups with adults with epilepsy. Using qualitative methods, the authors initially identified 10 patient-generated quality indicators, 5 of which were subsequently rated, along with literature-based quality indicators, by an expert panel using a modified RAND appropriateness methodology. The authors discuss similarities and differences in aspects of care patients and providers value as essential for good quality. The process presented in this article may serve as a model for incorporating patient perceptions of quality into the future development of quality indicators for chronic diseases.