The Use of a Conceptual Model and Related Indicators to Evaluate Quality of Health Care in Intensive Care Units

The present study illustrates an approach aimed at evaluating the performance of postoperative intensive care units (ICUs) in terms of quality of health care. The starting point is the recognition of a conceptual model suitable to describe the multifaceted healthcare system. The model plays a fundamental role in the identification of suitable performance indicators, which are intended to both evaluate quality of health care and assist system diagnostics and troubleshooting tasks. The evaluation is then accomplished by means of a measurement method that involves the collection and processing of data related to the structure, process, and clinical outcomes. The method is inspired by the define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) strategy that is largely employed in the industry; in fact, it adopts techniques and tools that are usually utilized to perform statistical process controls. A case study shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach at evaluating ICUs and its capability of recognizing the causes of inefficiencies within the organizational model of the same ICU.