Quality and Safety Markers (QSMs) show whether key safety actions are being taken in health care and how they affect patient harm. They help us track processes and outcomes to understand good practice and where improvement is needed.
Quality and Safety Markers (QSMs) are our way of measuring whether the right safety actions are being taken and what effect these actions have on common harms. When the right processes are carried out, harm can be reduced (outcomes).
QSMs look at both:
By monitoring both areas, we can see how changes in practice affect patient safety.
An example of this approach is preventing falls in hospital. By assessing a patient’s risk of falling and putting an individual care plan in place, hospitals can reduce the likelihood of serious falls, such as those that lead to a fractured neck of femur (broken hip).
Since 2013, we have collected data and calculated metrics for QSMs. Over time, we have targeted new specific harms and introduced new measures, while retiring others.
When good practice becomes widespread and well established, we may retire process measures. We continue to monitor the outcome measure to make sure improved results are maintained.
We monitor both process and outcome measures for:
We monitor outcomes measures only for:
