Selecting patient factors for risk adjustment in health outcomes assessments

Risk adjustment is used in health outcomes assessments to control for diffe rences in patient risk factors. Appropriate risk adjustment requires that i mportant risk factors be identified and included for data collection. These risk factors must be chosen carefully based on the disease state being ass essed, the outcomes being evaluated, and consideration of other factors tha t may influence the outcomes assessment, This column outlines a series of p ractical steps for selecting appropriate risk factors for outcomes assessme nts. It illustrates how these steps may be applied using the example of a h ealth system's assessment of appropriate ACE inhibitor use for patients wit h congestive heart failure.