Outcomes monitoring: adjusting for risk factors, severity of illness, and complexity of care.

Adjusting for risk factors, severity of illness, and complexity of care is important when comparing and interpreting outcomes. Current and future approaches for examining risk factors, severity of illness, and complexity of care are described within the contexts of administrative, economic, and clinical outcomes. Reasons why the current standardized instruments, computerized severity systems, and workload/intensity measurements, when used alone, are inadequate for outcomes monitoring are proposed. A more comprehensive model for outcomes monitoring is required, one that adjusts outcomes for risk factors, severity of illness, and complexity of care.