Practical considerations for implementing health outcomes measurement projects within a healthcare organization: Delphi Expert Consensus Study

Introduction: Measuring health outcomes and costs per patient is an essential element of value-based healthcare (VBHC). The aim of the study was to generate expert consensus on the activities required to implement it. Methods: A two-round modified Delphi study with healthcare professionals, quality and clinical management methodologists and managers with academic and/or practical experience in outcome measurement projects. A median equal to or greater than 4 and a relative interquartile range (RIQR) equal to or greater than 25% were established as consensus criteria. Results: Consensus was obtained on 91% of the items (N=74/81). In terms of feasibility, the items that received the highest score and consensus were the existence of data protection guarantees (median =5; mean =4.8; RIQR =0%), the vision and motivation of healthcare professionals (median =5; mean =4.7; RIQR = 20%), the existence and availability of ICT tools (or systems) for data recording (median =5; mean =4.5; RIQR=20%), and having sufficient funding to undertake the project (median =5; mean =4.2; RIQR= 20%). The most highly rated factors adding complexity were the number of units or departments involved in the care process for the clinical condition (median = 5; mean =4.4; RIQR =20%), having an accepted set of monitoring indicators for the condition (median =5; mean =4.4; RIQR =20%), and the involvement of several levels of care in the project (median =5; mean =4.3; RIQR = 20%). Conclusions: We describe practical aspects for the application of systematic outcomes measurement in routine clinical practice. These results can serve as a tool for prioritising, sizing, resource planning, and estimating implementation costs. (C) 2022 FECA. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.