数学中国 Ww. madio. net Better Liming fhrough Math 137 Metrics for Assessing Quality We define a metric for the quality of a country s healthcare system as a measurement of something that is capable of impacting a health outcome a desirable metric is associated with a desirable health outcome (e.g,av- erage access to medical care, frequency of contraceptive use, frequency of immunizations), and vice versa for an undesirable metric(e g occurrence of diseases, waiting times for doctors, unaffordable costs). Due to the large differences in how healthcare is provided through out the world, some metrics- especially those impacted by culture or geo graphic conditions-might be inappropriate for comparisons between na- tions. That is, for a metric to be an effective measure of quality, it should measure something thatisimpacted directly by healthsystemsand it should be influenced by as few outside factors as possible Quality Criteri The OECD has identified three primary components of success of any healthcare systen promotion of good health, prevention of illness, and treatment and diagnosis of illness [Kelley and Hurst 2006] Additionally, the OECd has compiled a list of metrics that best measure the quality of each of these components [2004]. We use a slightly modified version of the OECD's description for a healthcare system; we consider a system to consist of the following components Prevention. Since promotion of good health and prevention of illness pri- marilyapply only to healthy populations, we treat these two components for their prevention and promotion o metrics suggested by the OECD mponents [2004] Accessibility. People are kept away from treatment or diagnosis by the ack of proximity of healthcare facilities, unavailability of staff, and the price of care[Feldstein 2006). A healthcare system cannot be effective if it cannot be reached by its population. Metrics for this parameter should measure the systems ability to accommodate people's needs in these Treatment. This component is unchanged from the OECd definition; the quality of this component should be measured by metrics suggested bi the OECD for their treatment and diagnosis component[2004]数学中国ww.madio.net