measures

Summary

The measures table (pellucid.measures) stores the specifications for the various measures for which Pellucid captures data values. These include indicators of cost, quality and experience used to measure the numeric values found in the 'entity_values' table. The measures table primary key is the measures.measure_id; the measures.author_id is a foreign key which links the measure to the 'measure_authors' table.

Measures may appear to be duplicated where there are two sources for the same measure data, or where measures have been versioned. In each case, a new measures.measure_id is created. For examples SCIP measures are captured from national CMS data but also captured from local sources that are one quarter more current. The measures are exactly the same, but the collection process differs as does the reporting period, therefore a new measure is created.

Measures is not restricted to traditional quality measures. For example, in Pellucid "bed count" is a measure. Measures are classified into measure domains.

Measures that are replaced by newer versions, such as PN-5, PN-5a and PN-5b. While these measures could be grouped under "timely antibiotic" and displayed as one continuous measure, Pellucid considers them three distinct measures; grouping or contiguity must be performed at the local application level after retrieval from Pellucid.

For information on groups of measures and specific measure data as they are reported, please see Measures Catalogue

Fields

field	type	attributes	notes	example
measures.measure_id	int(11)	NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT	provided by Pellucid	123456
measure_authors.author_id	int(11)	DEFAULT NULL	Who wrote this measure? If a measure is edited or changed in any way from an original spec, a new measure is created and the editor is listed as the author.	123456
measures.parent_id	int(11)	DEFAULT NULL	Reserved for future relationship mapping	123456
measures.name_friendly	text	DEFAULT NULL	Consumer-friendly name of the measure	Aspirin on Arrival
measures.name_official	text	DEFAULT NULL	The author's name for the measure	AMI-1 Aspirin at Arrival--Hospital
measures.name_internal	text	DEFAULT NULL	Pellucid's internal name, often the exact same as name_official. Used primarily for disambiguation where multiple measures share an official name or are similar.	AMI-1 Aspirin at Arrival--Hospital
measures.description_friendly	text	DEFAULT NULL	Friendly description of what this measure measures.	Heart attack patients who received aspirin within 24 hours before or after arriving at hospital
measures.description_official	text	DEFAULT NULL	Official measure description from the author.	Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients without aspirin contraindications who received aspirin within 24 hours before or after hospital arrival
measures.author_measure_id	text	DEFAULT NULL	If the author uses unique measure ids, capture it here.	AMI-1
measures.author_measure_specs	text	DEFAULT NULL	Local file reference to the measure specifications for this measure.	ami-1.pdf
measures.rationale_long	text	DEFAULT NULL	Usually gleaned from the measure spec, this rationale is intended for researchers and clinicians.	The early use of aspirin in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) results in a significant reduction in adverse events and subsequent mortality. Aspirin therapy provides a percent reduction in mortality that is comparable to thrombolytic therapy and the combination provides additive benefit for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (ISIS-2, 1988) and is also effective in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (Theroux, 1988 and RISC Group, 1990). National guidelines strongly recommend early aspirin for patients hospitalized with AMI (Antman, 2004).
measures.rationale_friendly	text	DEFAULT NULL	A consumer-friendly rationale for improving and/or reporting the measure.	When hospitals follow proven guidelines, patients get better and safer care and, in this case, that can mean fewer people die from their heart attacks.
measures.evidence	enum('more is better','less is better','no evidence','no difference','within_range_is_better')	NOT NULL DEFAULT 'no evidence'	For every measure Pellucid knows if there is literature-based evidence that moving the numbers for this measure in either direction is favourable, or if the evidence has shown the measure to be inconsequential. "less is better": means we would want lower numeric values, such as mortality rates. "more is better": means we want higher values, such as process of care measures. "no evidence": should be applied to measures where no evidence can be found to warrant a better patient outcome from moving the measure up or down. "no difference": used only when specific literature exists that the measure is inconsequential to better outcomes.	more is better
measures.measure_type	enum('process','outcome','access','experience','utilization','structure','population')	DEFAULT NULL	Defines the kind of measure used. Corresponds to the NQMC measure domains.	process
measures.default_unit	enum('percent','per 1000','per 100000','cases','ratio','days','hours','patients','dollars','na','minutes','people','square miles','years','households','per 100','per 10000','micrograms')	DEFAULT 'percent'	Denotes the standard unit for the measure	percent
measures.measure_incept_date	date	NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00'	When this measure was conceived or first used in the wild. In most instances this date will represent the earliest data available in Values for this measure.	2004-04-01
measures.measure_expiry_date	date	NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00'	When this measure was retired or otherwise expired by the author. All zeroes implies no expiration.	0000-00-00
measures.nqf_endorsed	enum('0','1')	NOT NULL DEFAULT '0'	If the measure has been endorsed by NQF this field is set to '1'	1
measures.nqf_endorsed_date	date	NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00'	If the measure has been endorsed by NQF the endorsement date is captured here	2003-09-01
measures.numerator_definition	text	DEFAULT NULL	Primarily intended for contextual Web tooltip content, this definition clarifies the numerator.	Number of heart attack patients who received aspirin within 24 hours before or after arriving at hospital, calculated by multiplying the rate by the denominator.
measures.denominator_definition	text	DEFAULT NULL	Primarily intended for contextual Web tooltip content, this definition clarifies the denominator.	Number of heart attack patients who were eligible to receive aspirin within 24 hours before or after arriving at hospital.
measures.minimum_sample	int(11)	DEFAULT NULL	minimum sample for default analysis/interpretation of values	30
measures.created	timestamp	NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00'	Date of INSERT into Pellucid	2009-10-11 12:42:23
measures.modified	timestamp	NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00' ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP	Date of most recent UPDATE into Pellucid	2010-02-12 23:42:45

Table Creation

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `measures` (
`measure_id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`author_id` int(11) DEFAULT NULL,
`parent_id` int(11) DEFAULT NULL,
`name_friendly` text DEFAULT NULL,
`name_official` text DEFAULT NULL,
`name_internal` text DEFAULT NULL,
`description_friendly` text DEFAULT NULL,
`description_long` text DEFAULT NULL,
`author_measure_id` text DEFAULT NULL,
`author_measure_specs` text DEFAULT NULL,
`rationale_long` text DEFAULT NULL,
`rationale_friendly` text DEFAULT NULL,
`evidence` enum('more_is_better','less_is_better','no_evidence','no_difference','within_range_is_better') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'more_is_better',
`measure_type` enum('process','outcome','access','experience','utilization','structure','population') DEFAULT NULL,
`default_unit` enum('percent','per 1000','per 100000','cases','ratio','days','hours','patients','dollars','na','minutes','people','square miles','years','households','per 100','per 10000','micrograms') DEFAULT 'percent',
`measure_incept_date` date NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00',
`measure_expiry_date` date NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00',
`nqf_endorsed` enum('0','1') NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`nqf_endorsed_date` date NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00',
`numerator_definition` text DEFAULT NULL,
`denominator_definition` text DEFAULT NULL,
`minimum_sample` int(11) DEFAULT NULL,
`created` timestamp NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
`modified` timestamp NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00' ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
PRIMARY KEY (`measure_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 AUTO_INCREMENT=17109 ;