Measurement of healthcare quality in atopic dermatitis – development and application of a set of quality indicators

摘要

Abstract Background Quality indicators are essential tools for the assessment of health care, in particular for guideline‐based procedures. Objective Development of a set of indicators for the evaluation of process and outcomes quality in atopic dermatitis ( AD ) care. Application of the indicators to a cross‐sectional study and creation of a global process quality index. Methods An expert committee consisting of 10 members of the German guideline group on AD condensed potential quality indicators to a final set of 5 outcomes quality and 12 process quality indicators using a Delphi panel. The outcomes quality and 7 resp. 8 process quality indicators were retrospectively applied to a nationwide study on 1678 patients with atopic dermatitis (AtopicHealth). Each individual process quality indicator score was then summed up to a global index (ranges from 0 [no quality achieved] to 100 [full quality achieved]) displaying the quality of health care. Results In total, the global process quality index revealed a median value of 62.5 and did not or only slightly correlate to outcomes quality indicators like the median SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD; rp = 0.08), Dermatology Life Quality Index ( DLQI ; rp = 0.256) and Patient Benefit Index ( PBI ; rp = ?0.151). Conclusion Process quality of AD care is moderate to good. The healthcare process quality index does not substantially correlate to the health status of AD patients measured by 5 different outcomes quality indicators. Further research should include the investigation of reliability, responsiveness and feasibility of the proposed quality indicators for AD .