Title
Paradigm for the management of patient outcomes
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Quantitative Health Sciences
Publication Date
1991-09-11
Document Type
Article
Subjects
Aged; Algorithms; Health Services Research; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Male; Models, Theoretical; New England; Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care); Patient Care Team; Pharmacists; Pharmacy Service, Hospital
Disciplines
Biostatistics | Epidemiology | Health Services Research
Abstract
Health-status measurement is discussed, and a paradigm for the management of patient outcomes is described and applied to a patient case. Challenged not only to eradicate disease but to improve health, today's health-care professionals must examine the structure, process, and outcomes of care to ensure that optimal care is provided. Techniques for measuring outcomes have been developed; important indicators are functional status, general well-being, and the patient's assessment of care. An interdisciplinary team of physicians, social scientists, and public policy experts at The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, studies ways of monitoring and improving the quality and efficiency of care. The team, which now includes a pharmacist, is working to develop practical systems of care whose outcomes can be tested in patients at the medical center. The paradigm developed for the management of patient outcomes begins with evaluation based on results of history, physical examination, and diagnostic tests. Problems and goals (therapeutic endpoints) are then defined, and the safest, most effective, and least costly treatment is selected. Treatment is monitored for subjective and objective results and adjusted as necessary. The achievement of each endpoint contributes to improvement of the patient's health. Knowledge of health-status measurement will enable pharmacists to increase their contribution to patients' health.
Source
Am J Hosp Pharm. 1991 Sep;48(9):1912-6. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
American journal of hospital pharmacy
PubMed ID
1928132
Related Resources
Repository Citation
Gouveia, W. A.; Bungay, K. M.; Massaro, F. J.; and Ware, John E. Jr., "Paradigm for the management of patient outcomes" (1991). Quantitative Health Sciences Publications and Presentations. 493.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/qhs_pp/493
