When it comes to healthcare, we all want quality over quantity. Value-based care models aim to deliver on this goal by moving us beyond fee-for-service models. 
Instead, payers will reimburse providers not for quantity of care but for clinical outcomes tied to cost containment. To succeed in this transition, organizations must implement strategies that effectively track quality metrics and improve care while demonstrating evidence-based outcomes.
What is a healthcare quality management dashboard?  
Healthcare organizations generate vast quantities of quality and other data. Interpreting and managing that data is challenging when stored in disparate systems. Quality management dashboards increase the visibility and transparency of key quality data targets and measures, including:
- Structures — the characteristics of clinicians and facilities related to capacity and systems; for example, provider-to-patient ratio
- Care processes — i.e. the percentage of patients who received immunizations or mammograms
- Outcomes variables — i.e. surgical complications and hospital-acquired infection rates 
Quality dashboards display countless metrics and other quality key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:
- Adverse events
- Never and sentinel events
- Clinical outcomes
- Patient access
- Patient complaints and satisfaction scores 
Nurse leaders and administrators compare this internal performance data against departments, facilities in the system, and other healthcare organizations via benchmarks to identify areas for quality improvement. The visualizations that quality dashboards provide help identify previously hidden patterns in data, deviations from ideal care, and performance differences across units and organizations. Quality dashboards also allow leaders to track responses to operational changes and quality improvement initiatives. 
What metrics should you include on a healthcare quality management dashboard? 
You should choose quality and risk management metrics based on your organization’s needs, the specific reporting requirements of your payers including CMS’ quality programs, and any accrediting bodies such as The Joint Commission. 
In 2023, CMS used quality measures in the five measure groups that follow to rate more than 4,500 hospitals from one to five stars. Although star ratings for hospitals are not directly related to financial reimbursement, many of the measures used to determine the star ratings are also used in other programs, such as the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, that directly affect reimbursement.
1. Mortality
The patient mortality rate measures the percentage of patients who die in a hospital's care before being discharged. Mortality rate is a strong indicator of providers' ability to stabilize a patient's condition following surgery or another procedure.
2. Safety
Safety metrics are related to medical incidents, including errors and adverse events. Hospital incidents include unintentional consequences or side effects of hospital procedures, including conditions like sepsis, postoperative respiratory failure, pulmonary embolisms, hemorrhages, and other reactions or infections. 
Safety metrics measure healthcare professionals’ ability to provide comprehensive, high-quality patient care without triggering an adverse reaction. The number of harm events per 1,000 patient days is one way to quantify this measure.
Two common patient safety measures are:
- Skin breakdown which occurs when pressure decreases blood flow to the skin. Patients with skin breakdown have a higher risk of infection. Skin assessment tools can be used to reduce skin breakdown.
- Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) which occur while patients are receiving treatment for medical or surgical conditions. These infections are caused by viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens.
3. Readmission
Readmission metrics refer to the percentage of patients who are admitted to a hospital within 30 days of being discharged for the same condition or a complication from the original episode of care. High hospital readmission rates indicate that physicians and other care providers are not delivering the proper care to patients, perhaps because they are overlooking complications or relevant patient data. Lower hospital readmission rates indicate higher care quality. In 2024, the average readmission rate in the US was 14.56%, with an average readmission cost of $16,300 per patient. 
Finding the optimal length of stay to prevent readmission is important for patient and hospital financial health. High readmission rates can decrease hospital revenue since hospitals with the highest readmission rates may be penalized by not receiving full Medicare reimbursement payments. Hospital readmissions cost Medicare $26 billion annually, so it’s not surprising that Medicare is focused on reducing readmission rates. In fiscal year 2023, 74.67% of hospitals in Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) received readmissions penalties.
4. Patient experience
Patient-reported outcome measures assess patients’ experiences and perceptions of their healthcare. You can evaluate these by tracking complaints and administering patient satisfaction surveys, including the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey that measures 64 markers of patient satisfaction ranging from care quality to care facility cleanliness. HCAHPS scores provide important information about how hospitals can improve patient care and services.
5. Timely & effective care
Timeliness of care metrics, such as waiting times from arrival at the ED until diagnostic evaluation, are related to patient access to care. Overcrowding in the ED has been associated with increased inpatient mortality, increased length of stay, and increased costs for admitted patients. 
Effectiveness of care outcomes measures evaluate two things: compliance with best practice care guidelines and achieved outcomes. Ensuring clinicians are following current best practice care guidelines is essential to improving clinical outcomes. Monitoring treatment outcomes and notifying clinicians when they need to review care guidelines are also important. 
Healthcare quality dashboards are essential tools that provide a visual representation of key performance indicators, helping to monitor and improve patient care outcomes. They enable healthcare professionals to identify trends, measure progress against benchmarks, and make data-driven decisions.
