Increasingly, policymakers and researchers who study disparities have raised the question of whether performance measures would be even more accurate if they were adjusted for sociodemographic factors as well. Indeed, there is a growing understanding that social determinants significantly influence a person’s health. Factors far outside the control of a doctor or hospital—patients’ income, housing, education, even race—can significantly affect patient health, healthcare, and providers’ performance scores.
–Christine Cassel on the Health Affairs blog, discussing new National Quality Forum draft recommendations. Go read the whole post and, if so moved, provide a comment on the draft report (public comments will be accepted until 6PM Eastern, April 16).
(With respect to hospital readmission performance measures, I’ve blogged on this issue here and here, among other posts.)
