Metrics for Processes in Healthcare

This chapter is an introduction to the measurement of processes. Measure-ment is important since a precise understanding of the current situation in a quantitative way provides a solid foundation for taking action in terms of improving the process. First, the characteristics of processes in healthcare are discussed. Then, the measurement of specific aspects of a process are investigated: its structure, its understanding by stakeholders, its performance and its conformance. Finally, we describe connections between these different aspects of measurement.