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NQF to review eight ambulatory care measures

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, April 7, 2005

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CMS posted on its Web site eight ambulatory care measures submitted for review to the National Quality Forum (NQF), moving moving one step closer to reporting data on care provided in ambulatory surgery centers.

The measures, released in December 2004, include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, depression and behavioral health, osteoarthritis, prenatal care, and preventive care. The NQF's board of directors will endorse some or all of the measures in the spring, according to CMS.

Obesity, child vaccinations, and patient perception of care are three areas the CMS could have also addressed, says Matthew Rosenblum, chief operations officer for privacy, security, quality management, and regulatory affairs at CPI Directions Inc. in New York City. "The existing measures cover most of the frequently occurring/high-risk conditions people suffer from," he says. "But I would have liked to see these other areas addressed also."

CMS will use the measures to pay physicians to monitor, report on, and improve the care provided to Medicare beneficiaries, the agency said.

Look for future incentives

CMS could use the ambulatory care measures for scorecards in the future, says Rosenblum. The agency could report the quality data publicly and use the information to pay physicians for reporting, much as it does in the hospital setting now. Gathering this information shouldn't require ambulatory organizations to hire new employees, as most contain the staffing or consultants for such work already, Rosenblum says. Adopting the use of electronics to crunch numbers, however, would lessen any strain an organization may feel.

Go here to view the proposed care measures (Adobe Acrobat required).

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