IS REAL-TIME QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH-CARE AN ACHIEVABLE GOAL

Hospital-wide and real-time clinical outcome evaluation systems promot e optimal quality of care with contained costs. These measurements of achieved health care benefits are critical for the ongoing process of national health care improvement. A practical hospital-wide quality im provement method, developed in the Veterans Administration Medical Cen ter-Salt Lake City (VAMC-SLC), that evaluates positive, neutral, and n egative outcome in relation to the mutual interactions between the hea lth care provider, equipment, methodology, and patient is discussed. R eal time or retrospective application of this analytical template to h igh risk procedures generates patient, practitioner, equipment, and me thodology specific data to coordinate hospital-wide continuous quality improvement and cost containment efforts. It also allows system-wide comparative assessments of progress in the achievement of benefits wit hin the national health care plan.