It’s Not About the Base— It’s About Quality
Quality health outcomes are not just about the denominator,
big data, or public health data; it is about the individual. The allure of
numbers is strong because numbers can be analyzed and the implication is that
the data are objective. Nevertheless, our quest for precise data and measurements
is often futile as too many times visually intoxicating three-dimensional
charts tell us nothing about what is happening at the point of care.
Our measurement system must be radically different from
what it is today. We should stop using the medical, economic, or business derived
terms of “patient” or “consumer” and
focus on the person or individual. For the first time, technology and
individual use of powerful computing devices (smartphones) give us the capacity
to move beyond groups to individual focus.
At the very least quality health measures should be
publicly reported and include more mortality and morbidity outcomes.
Additionally measures must be sufficiently nimble to:
- Rapidly reflect new science.
- Rapidly include new technologies.
- At a minimum be analyzed by race, ethnicity, and gender.
- Encourage care that is tailored to the individual.
- Avoid the tyranny of big data when caring for the individual.
- Address that quality is defined in different ways by each person.
