Is safety part of quality : a proposal for a continuum in performance measurement?
Traditional performance measures continue to assist hospitals in identifying crucial aspects of safety in the delivery of care. Building on the findings of a previous study, there are emerging trends in the type of measures used in hospitals in Asia, Europe and the USA pursuing the improvement of overall performance. The increasing use of patient-level data specifically, in tandem with organizational level indicators, may signal the continuum of measurement strategies, now still predominantly in the USA but anticipated to be adopted both in Europe and Asia.
Long-term treatment with ARB inhibits the progression of arterial stiffness independent of BP reduction. One of the mechanisms may be related to the increased serum adiponectin concentration after treatment with an ARB.