About ICHOM Sets

Defining outcomes that matter most

To date, we have published 46 Sets of Patient-Centered Outcome Measures covering different conditions and for specific patient populations.

By creating a standardized list of the outcomes based on the patient’s priorities along with instruments and time points for measurement, we can ensure the patient remains at the centre of their care. For valid comparison, we know the importance of risk adjustment, so we also standardize these case mix variables.

When developing a Set, we bring together a multidisciplinary group of patient representatives, leading physicians and registry leaders to prioritize a core set of outcomes, which take into consideration outcomes from different treatments. Through the implementation of these Sets, you can begin to measure, analyze and improve outcomes achieved in the delivery of care. We are continually reviewing our published Sets.

Our Methodology

We bring together global teams of patient advocates, healthcare professionals and researchers to define outcomes in our Sets.

These teams, or “Working Groups” will take a systematic approach to reviewing existing measures from a provider, registry and patient perspective, prioritise those which are most important, and propose they be collated together in an ICHOM Set. The methodology for all of our Sets is published in peer-reviewed journals. Watch the video below to find out more.

Patient-Physician Partnership

ICHOM takes a unique approach to defining health outcomes. All of our patient representatives have been treated for, or have cared for someone who has lived with, the condition they are evaluating. We also bring together leading physicians from across the globe who specialize in treating this condition. The ICHOM team facilitates as physicians and patients discuss – and agree upon – the outcomes that matter most.

Multidisciplinary approach

Physician leaders, patient advocacy members, registry leaders, and patients, help define:

  • Various treatment options
  • Outcomes resulting from treatments
  • Which health outcomes matter most to patients
  • Speciality experts across multiple disciplines

International Leaders

A standardized approach to comparing outcomes across cultures enables patients and caregivers to learn about which providers deliver the best outcomes and to begin to understand why providers in other nations achieve similar outcomes when they use vastly different treatments.

Why Measure Outcomes

Measuring outcomes that matter most to patients serves four benefits

Measuring outcomes that matter most to patients enables a cycle of continuous improvement. By measuring comparable data points and comparing outcomes across providers, organisations can understand what works well and what doesn’t. This drives ever-improving patient outcomes and experiences, generating evidence which leads to payment and regulatory reform.

Learn

To measure is to learn, and learning has both a local and an international dimension. Within individual facilities, practices, and provider organizations, clinicians can learn from the outcomes data they gather, improving the lives of their own patients and their colleagues’ patients. At the same time, data derived from standard, internationally-accepted metrics allow care teams across geographies to learn from one another. Measuring and reporting outcomes data allows caregivers from Chicago to Sheffield, from Dublin to Dubai, from Tel Aviv to Tokyo, to evaluate their work using the universal “language” of health outcomes.

Improve Performance

Clinicians’ central goal is to help their patients: to cure their illnesses, ease their discomfort, and help them manage their health over time. Doing this more effectively and efficiently requires outcomes data. In this video Dr Barbaro Friden of Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden, explains how larger hospitals can lead the way in collecting data to drive improvement.

Improve Outcomes

More than ever, clinical leadership, governments, and others know that they must deliver high-quality care efficiently. Managing costs without sacrificing quality is possible, but not when stakeholders are blind to the impact of their decisions. Outcomes data removes the blindfold and shines light on the results of procedures, processes, structures, and systems.

Alternative Payment Models

Today, hospital rankings are based primarily on basic clinical indicators, such as mortality and infection rates, and on reputation. We believe these indicators don’t capture the full picture. What matters most are the outcomes that patients experience. Hospitals that can demonstrate superior outcomes on certain conditions will attract patients, earn respect, and become leaders among their peers. This lays the foundation for a fairer, more progressive reimbursement model, where Providers are rewarded for improving patients’ lives, rather than delivering volume of care.

As a non-profit organization, ICHOM works with a range of organizations and individual experts to develop the framework for our Sets of Patient-Centered Outcome Measures.

This includes patient representatives, leading clinicians and researchers and leads to the publication of the outcomes that matter most to patients. Funds are needed to support the working groups and to drive the process forward.

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