Metric-driven harm: An exploration of unintended consequences of performance measurement

Authors

Betty Rambur, University of Vermont
Carol Vallett, University of Vermont
Judith A. Cohen, University of Vermont
Jill Mattuck Tarule, University of Vermont

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

11-1-2013

Abstract

Performance measurement is an increasingly common element of the US health care system. Typically a proxy for high quality outcomes, there has been little systematic investigation of the potential negative unintended consequences of performance metrics, including metric-driven harm. This case study details an incidence of post-surgical metric-driven harm and offers Smith's 1995 work and a patient centered, context sensitive metric model for potential adoption by nurse researchers and clinicians. Implications for further research are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Applied Nursing Research

Volume

26

Issue

4

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Rambur, Betty, Carol Vallett, Judith A. Cohen, and Jill Mattuck Tarule. "Metric-driven harm: An exploration of unintended consequences of performance measurement." Applied Nursing Research 26, 4 (2013): 269-272. doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2013.09.001.