Guideline	Definition	Example
Indicator	Systematically developed statements to help practitioners and patients make decisions in specific clinical circumstances. They essentially define best practice1	If a blood pressure reading is raised on one occasion, the patient should be followed up on two further occasions within 6 months
Review criterion	Retrospectively measurable element of practice performance for which there is evidence or consensus that it can be used to assess quality of care provided and hence change it6	Patients with a blood pressure >160/90 mm Hg should have their blood pressure remeasured within 3 months
Standard:	Systematically developed statement relating to a single act of medical care.6 The statement is so clearly defined that it is possible to determine retrospectively whether the element of care occurred4	If an individual patient's blood pressure was >160/90 mm Hg, was it remeasured within 3 months?
Target standard	The level of compliance with a criterion or indicator6	90% of practice's patients with blood pressure >160/90 mm Hg should have their blood pressure remeasured within 3 months
Achieved standard	Set prospectively and stipulates a level of care that providers must strive to meet	80% of practice's patients with blood pressure >160/90 mm Hg had their blood pressure remeasured within 3 months
	Measured retrospectively and details whether a care provider met a predetermined standard