A discussion paper published today by The King's Fund published today has called for clarity in the use of quality measures in the NHS.
‘Getting the Measure of Quality' states that quality measure have "real potential for improving the quality of care, but care must be taken to avoid misleading patients, distorting priorities and damaging staff morale".
Download 'Getting the Measure of Quality' >>
The report recognises that quality and safety of health care is complex and challenging to measure, and the measures used are often difficult to interpret, but the discussion paper goes on to set out the issues that should be considered in developing and using indicators for measuring quality.
Among its key recommendations, the King's Fund stresses the need to avoid misinterpretation and confusion by being clear about the different audiences for quality measures and how they will use them.
It also suggests that the NHS should widen the scope of quality measurement to include measures of productivity, efficiency and inequality, as well as those that capture quality across patient pathways.
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