Patient Care Outcomes: Implications for the Military Health Services Systems

摘要

Prodded by Congress, the health care community is struggling to curb spiralinghealth care costs through research that examines patient outcomes and the effectiveness of interventions. The emphasis on patient outcomes appears destined to have an impact on health care in the 1990s commensurate with the impact that diagnosis related groups (DRGs) had in the 1980s. Just as the Military Health Services System (MHSS) was not insulated from the effects of DRGs, it is highly improbable that the MHSS will escape involvement from the emphasis on patient outcomes. To respond proactively to changes in health care precipitated by patient outcomes, it is essential that the MHSS have a solid understanding of this new emphasis. This paper, therefore, provides an overview of patient outcomes, addresses conceptual and methodologic issues pertinent to evaluating patient outcomes, and presents five points concerning patient outcomes in the MHSS.