---
title: Bringing real world outcomes to health care quality metrics
description: Bringing real world outcomes to health care quality metrics
---

[Blog ](https://blog.ibiweb.org/blog)

# [Bringing real world outcomes to health care quality metrics](https://blog.ibiweb.org/blog/bringing-real-world-outcomes-to-health-care-quality-metrics)

 Written by [IBI](https://blog.ibiweb.org/blog/author/ibi) | Jul 23, 2018 7:09:57 PM

## Readiness for school and work can complement clinical outcomes

In a post on Health Affairs' blog, a group of doctors and public health researchers identify school readiness as an important but overlooked [health care quality metric](https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20180711.857544/full/).

Given what is known about health and child development, assessing 5-year olds' school readiness (as well as more standard pediatric metrics such as immunizations) provides a window into the quality of their recent health care.

School readiness also gives long-term insights into health care's contributions to healthier, more productive adults. As IBI pointed out in its [report of FMLA use among call center workers](https://www.ibiweb.org/the-challenge-of-fmla-leave-in-call-centers-and-what-experts-say-employers/), an employer hires a person's entire health history, not just their current health status and their capacity to develop healthier habits in the future.

The Health Affairs authors' emphasis on school readiness as a real world outcome overlaps with IBI's efforts to encourage the inclusion of productivity—such as avoidance of disability absences and stay-at-work/return-to-work indicators—as metrics of care quality. Forthcoming research by one of [IBI's Thomas Parry Research Fellows](https://www.ibiweb.org/the-thomas-parry-research-fellowship/) will drive that point home by linking hospital care to workers' earnings and employment outcomes.

[View full post](https://blog.ibiweb.org/blog/bringing-real-world-outcomes-to-health-care-quality-metrics)

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