Ensuring Quality Health Care
Quality/Performance Measures
Presenter:
Irma Arispe, Ph.D., Director of Evaluation Research, Department of Care Management and Outcomes Research, Johns Hopkins University-Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD.
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An important element of any quality assessment process is the development of accurate and
appropriate measures of quality. Discussed were the key issues and challenges associated with the development of clinical
performance measures used to assess the extent to which a provider delivers appropriate medical
services.
Among the key questions discussed were the following:
- How do you determine what you should be measuring?
- What key measurement concepts should you keep in mind developing or selecting measures?
(These concepts included issues of reliability, validity, the nature of data sources, and risk
adjustment issues.)
- Should you develop your own measures or adopt/adapt those developed by other organizations?
In discussing this last point, performance measure development efforts were described that are
being undertaken by key quality measurement organizations, such as the National Committee on
Quality Assurance (NCQA), the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
(JCAHO), the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT), and the Agency for Health
Care Policy and Research (AHCPR).
CONQUEST [Computerized Needs-Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System], a software tool developed with support from AHCPR, can assist policymakers
and program administrators in identifying clinical performance measures developed by different
organizations that might be adopted or adapted for use in public programs.
References
Schoenbaum, S.C. et. al. Using Clinical Practice Guidelines to Evaluate Quality of Care: Issues and Methods.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Health Care Policy and
Research. (AHCPR Publication Number 95-0045 and 95-0046); Attachment
B, March 1995.
Palmer, R.H. et. al., CONQUEST 1.0: COmputerized Needs-Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Health Care Policy and
Research. (AHCPR Publication Number 96-N009), 1996.
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