IOM Names 15 “Vital Signs” for Tracking U.S. Progress on Health

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published a report outlining 15 core measures for monitoring and assessing progress toward improved health and healthcare in the U.S. The new measures are intended to reduce the burden of measurement-taking on clinicians, enhance transparency and comparability and improve health outcomes.

According to the report, titled VITAL SIGNS: Core Metrics for Health and Health Care Progress, current health measures are numerous and overlapping. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lists nearly 1,700 measures, while the National Quality Forum counts 630. Yet most differ enough to prevent direct comparisons.

The report’s recommended measures are:

• Life expectancy
• Well-being
• Overweight and obesity
• Addictive behavior
• Unintended pregnancy
• Healthy communities
• Preventive services
• Access to care
• Patient safety
• Evidence-based care
• Care that matches patient goals
• Personal spending burden
• Population spending burden
• Individual engagement
• Community engagement

“If we want to know how effective and efficient our health expenditures are in order to improve health and lower costs, we need to measure the most crucial health outcomes to guide our choices and gauge impact,” said committee chair David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund. “The proposed core set focuses on the most powerful measures that have the greatest potential to positively affect the health and well-being of Americans.”

The report sets out specific actions for stakeholder groups to take toward implementing the core measures. It also recommends that the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services use the core measures to improve measure reporting in HHS programs, and develop a strategy to facilitate their adoption by other federal and state agencies and national organizations.

For more information and to download a copy of the report, visit www.iom.edu/Reports/2015/Vital-Signs-Core-Metrics.aspx.