Selecting and Applying AMI Measures

Start with the outcome your program seeks and the decision the findings will inform. AMI’s three metric cards provide shared starting points alongside your organization’s own outcome measures. Choose a measure that fits the intended result, the program and your partners’ records.

Each card explains the priority metric, why it matters, how to calculate it, and what to consider when interpreting the result. Use it as your technical reference and review it with the partners closest to the evidence.

These are connected outcome areas. Track each selected measure over comparable periods to understand improvement, maintenance, decline or variation. Receipt, stock availability and service volume each describe a different part of the contribution to care.

Use existing records and agree the product or service, sites, data source, responsibilities and reporting schedule with partners. Follow the selected card’s definition, units and calculation. Establish a baseline and repeat the measure across comparable periods, including availability. Show starting and later values alongside the change.

Use the adaptable Excel data templates as supplied or modify them for your program, keeping the measure clearly defined. Add outputs where they explain scale and context. Agree what to measure now and what would strengthen future measurement, including staff time, systems and resources.

Record where the data came from, what is missing, and any assumptions. Use consistent definitions across reporting periods. For continuity, missing observations cannot be counted as stockout-free periods. A stock check on one date cannot establish uninterrupted availability throughout a quarter.

For service volume, keep the service definition, counting unit and periods comparable. Report services delivered separately from unique patients. When the baseline is zero, describe the service as new or restored, report the current volume and establish the baseline for future comparison.

Bring partner, provider, and patient perspectives alongside the quantitative finding. Their experiences can help explain the result, reveal barriers, and identify questions for further investigation. Clearly distinguish reported experience from a measured change or a result established across the program.

Build a few focused questions into routine reports, partner calls, or visits:

The three cards provide a shared starting point, while your program may also contribute to outcomes they do not capture. You may want to explore whether patients can obtain a full course of products when prescribed, whether travel or cost limits access, or whether service availability differs across locations.

These are questions for exploration, rather than additional AMI priority metrics. Choose one only if it matters to your program and partners. Define the expected change, how products and complementary support could contribute, and what evidence would show that change. Agree on a feasible measure and distinguish it from the standard metric on the card.

Use the outcome discussion to consider what would help the program achieve the result it seeks. Partners may identify changes in product planning, delivery timing, staffing or complementary support. Agree a feasible next step, who will support it and when to review both the program and its outcomes.