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This section provides information about quality measures that pertain to the following specific situations:

• When First Diagnosed
• After the Diagnosis
• If Seizures Don’t Stop
• If Medications Cause Side Effects
• Questions for the Doctor
• Just for Women

The particular quality measures discussed in this section come from a research project funded by the Centers for Disease Control, which was published in the journal Neurology in 2007.

The researchers sought to develop valid quality indicators for epilepsy care, focusing their assessment of quality on care within primary care and general neurology clinics. As stated in the abstract of their article, they reviewed existing national clinical guidelines and systematic reviews of the medical literature to develop an initial list of quality indicators. They supplemented the list with indicators derived from patient focus groups and convened a 10-member expert panel to rate the appropriateness, reliability, and necessity of each quality indicator. As a result of this process, the expert panel identified 24 evidence-based and 5 patient-based indicators as appropriate indicators of quality. Each of these indicators is included in this section, together with additional information to help put the quality indicators in context.

The researchers propose that these indicators could provide a basis to assess and improve the quality of care for persons with epilepsy who receive their care in primary care or general neurology settings.

Topic Editor: Mary Jo V. Pugh, PhD, RN and Steven C. Schachter, MD.
Last Reviewed: 7/29/08