Outcome measures are objective, consisting of data gathered from standardized forms and tests. Expected practices are indicators of the level of quality in facility operations, or of the extent to which processes are implemented as intended. In other cases, expected practices may be based on a consensus of professional opinion. The extent to which a facility is engaging in an expected practice is, at some level, a qualitative assessment. Processes express the presence of a policy that prescribes a practice that is to be followed, or the use of a particular form or test in decision making.
Processes are objectively verifiable through observation.
They are either present or not present.