International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2006
OECD Health Care Quality Indicator Project. The expert panel on primary care prevention and health promotion.
This article describes a project undertaken as part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Healthcare Quality Indicator (HCQI) Project, which aimed to develop a set of quality indicators representing the domains of primary care, prevention and health promotion, and which could be used to assess the performance of primary care systems. ⋯ This project represents an important but preliminary step towards a set of measures to evaluate and compare primary care quality. Further work is required to assess the operational feasibility of the indicators and the validity of any benchmarking data drawn from international comparisons. A conceptual framework needs to be developed that comprehensively captures the complex construct of primary care as a basis for the selection of additional indicators.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2006
Quality indicators for international benchmarking of mental health care.
To identify quality measures for international benchmarking of mental health care that assess important processes and outcomes of care, are scientifically sound, and are feasible to construct from preexisting data. ⋯ Although limited, the proposed measure set provides a starting point for international benchmarking of mental health care. It addresses known quality problems and achieves some breadth across diverse dimensions of mental health care.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2006
Selecting indicators for the quality of cardiac care at the health system level in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are major causes of morbidity and death in adults in the world. Major differences have been reported in the management strategies and the outcome of CV diseases within and between countries. To better understand and address these differences, there is a need for quantitative information on patient management, outcome, and prognosis. ⋯ The final set of 17 indicators selected by the Cardiac Care Panel constitutes a comprehensive set of measures for the most relevant domains of CV care. Nevertheless, gaps remain in the area of primary prevention and in particular in areas with rapidly changing technology and improving treatment options.