Each year providers are increasingly challenged to control costs and account for resource utilization, while maintaining quality patient care.

     Internal and external demands to measure utilization and quality require better documentation and meaningful evaluation of provider performance.

     Which measurement system can provide the results required in today’s health care environment? Answering this question is difficult because of the confusing array of available systems, with their different methodologies and conflicting claims.

     One thing is certain: the system you choose must be able to validate quality of care to review organizations, employers, third-party payers, and the community.

     The Comprehensive Severity Index (CSI^®) is the only integrated inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care quality measurement software system that uses disease-specific information required for clinical practice improvement.

     As it links clinical signs and symptoms with patient-specific diagnoses, CSI adjusts for patient severity, tracks patients across the continuum of care, assesses outcomes, provides information for case management and utilization review, and enhances clinical practice improvement studies that identify best medical practices.

     CSI provides meaningful clinical information about a patient’s physiological status—vital information that can be used in clinical outcomes studies. At the same time, it provides administrators with severity-adjusted information on patient length of stay, cost of care, and resource use.

     Continuous quality improvement and clinical practice improvement programs play key roles in managing health care delivery systems in today’s health care environment. CSI can play a vital role in this process.