How to Calculate Absolute Improvement

Absolute improvement and relative improvement are common ways that health care systems measure patient care, drug effectiveness, patient status and other key metrics. Relative improvement measures the percentage change along a line from a baseline measurement to 100 percent satisfaction. More simply, absolute improvement is the distance between the baseline measurement and the improved measurement.

Things You'll Need

• Baseline measurement
• New measurement

Instructions

1. Determine the baseline measurement: for example, 55 percent satisfaction in patient care.

2. Make a note of the new measurement: for example, 75 percent satisfaction in patient care.

3. Subtract the baseline measurement from the new measurement. Using our example numbers, 75 percent minus 55 percent yields an absolute improvement of 20 percent.

References

• American Health Quality Association: JAMA: Change In The Quality Of Care Delivered To Medicare Beneficiaries, 1998-1999 To 2000-2001