Cover: Development of Outcome Criteria and Standards to Assess the Quality of Care for Patients with Osteoarthrosis

Development of Outcome Criteria and Standards to Assess the Quality of Care for Patients with Osteoarthrosis

by Sheldon Greenfield, Nancy E. Solomon, Robert H. Brook, Allyson Ross Davies

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback36 pages $20.00 $16.00 20% Web Discount

Results of the first step in assessment of quality of care for patients with osteoarthrosis using short-term outcome measures, where "short-term" indicates within one year of the initial encounter for care. An expert panel used an extensive literature review and clinical judgment to select outcome criteria and develop standards. Short-term outcome criteria thought to be sensitive to variations in quality of care include functional capacity, pain level, medication use, results of surgery, participation in usual social activities, drug dependence, outlook on life, depression, anxiety, sexual function, economic dependence, and satisfaction with marital relationship. Panel members also identified clinical and sociodemographic variables that must be controlled for when comparing outcomes of groups of patients. In addition, criteria for selecting patients for whom these outcome criteria and standards are applicable and the appropriate times for outcome assessment are discussed. The authors conclude that use of outcome measures is a useful and feasible approach to assessment of quality of care for patients with osteoarthrosis.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.