Performance indicators for clinical practice management in primary care in Portugal: consensus from a Delphi study.

AbstractBackground: Performance indicators assessing the quality of medical care and linked to pay for performance may cause disagreement. Portuguese indicators included in recent health care reform are controversial.Objectives: To obtain consensus from opinion leaders in family medicine regarding the performance indicators for practice management used in the evaluation of Family Health Units in Portugal.Methods: Eighty-nine specialists in primary care were invited to answer the following question in an online Delphi study: ‘Which performance indicators should be assessed regarding the organization and management of clinical practice in primary care in Portugal?’A Likert scale was used to evaluate validity, reliability, feasibility and sensitivity to change. Twenty-seven experts participated in the second round and achieved a high degree of consensus. Eight categories were created for analysis.Results: The experts suggested the use of existing indicators as well as new indicators. Thirty-nine indicators s...