Principles for Making Health Care Measurement Patient-Centered

Patient-centered measurement involves partnering with patients in a meaningful way to decide what we measure, how we measure it, and how we report and use the results of measurement. It also requires that the needs and concerns of other key stakeholders such as health care providers, health care organizations, payers, insurers, and policymakers are considered, allowing for increased information flow between stakeholders; improved partnership; and shared responsibility and accountability for outcomes.

Principles for Making Health Care Measurement Patient-Centered offers a vision of measurement that is patient-driven, holistic, transparent, comprehensible and timely, and co-created with patients. These principles, and related examples, address a critical gap in measuring health care by placing patient preferences at the center. 

The National Quality Forum is using our Principles as the basis for its 2017 Innovation Challenge.

When translated into action, the five principles offer an approach to transform measurement in ways that reflect what patients say they need and want. Adhering to these five principles of patient-centeredness will improve the ability of measurement to drive meaningful change toward better health, better care, and lower costs.

Principles for Making Health Care Measurement Patient-Centered was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the California Health Care Foundation.