They should not be used in isolation to interpret a complex health issue, the report warns. A single indicator will fill in only one piece of a puzzle. For example, a hospital looking at the quality of its heart-attack care will track the outcomes of care, such as what proportion of heart-attack patients die in hospital during their stay. “But the hospital will also want to monitor its processes of care, such as the percentage of heart-attack patients who received aspirin within 24 hours before or after their arrival in hospital.”

For the time being, health indicators are likely to be more relevant to healthcare professionals and policy makers than to citizens, but the HCC report is a step in the right direction toward informed participation by patients in their own care.

To read the full report, click here

Keywords: healthcare