Developing Quality Measures

Quality measures are tools for quantifying the quality of care processes, patient outcomes, patient experiences, or health care system performance. Measure development is a complex process that may involve using data to develop new measures, refining existing measures, or adapting measures to new conditions or new settings.

RAND health researchers have developed measures using all of these approaches. Examples include:

• People with specific conditions
  • Opioid addiction
  • Multiple chronic conditions
• Use in specific settings
  • Palliative care
  • Depression care in the VA
• Use at the health plan and system level
  • Medicare star ratings
  • Health care system performance

As well as guidance on when measures need to be updated.