CQMC Announces Updates to Eight Core Measure Sets

Update includes implementation guidance to facilitate widescale adoption

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Core Quality Measures Collaborative (CQMC) announced updates to eight of its core measure sets. The CQMC also updated the implementation guidance that accompanies the core sets to highlight the role of telehealth, changes in endorsement status, and considerations for measure use to facilitate the widescale adoption of the sets.

“Streamlined measurement can generate actionable information that empowers change for the better,” said Danielle A. Lloyd, MPH, Senior Vice President of Private Market Innovations and Quality Initiatives at AHIP and CQMC Steering Committee Chair. “That’s why the CQMC is focused on voluntary alignment by public and private payers around curated sets of rigorous measures as part of value-based care arrangements that reward coordinated care and improved patient outcomes.”

The CQMC routinely assesses its measure sets to ensure novel concepts are incorporated while only high-value measures are maintained. The updates include the addition of new measures which assess the outcomes of care and emphasize the need for improved care coordination and care transitions. The updates also include the removal of measures that are no longer supported by evidence or have meaningful opportunities for performance improvement.

“Alignment of measures, not only among federal programs but also with states and private payers, will permit the comparison of performance across patient populations, send consistent signals for care improvement, and reduce the burden of measurement.” said Michelle Schreiber, MD, Deputy Director of Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ), and Director of the Quality Measurement and Value-based Incentives Group (QMVIG), CMS. “CMS looks to input from organizations like the CQMC to inform its universal foundation and programs to advance aligned measurement that can improve the quality and equity of both health care and health of Americans.”

The CQMC core measure sets are the culmination of 75+ multi-stakeholder member organizations evaluating hundreds of existing quality measures against the CQMC’s rigorous selection criteria and recommending consensus-based measures that are evidence-based to promote alignment across public and private payers within value-based contracts. The measures not only provide a roadmap for clinicians to improve care, but also give consumers valuable information on which to choose clinicians.

The CQMC core measure sets address the following specialties:

• Accountable Care Organizations/Patient Centered Medical Homes/Primary Care*
• Behavioral Health*
• Cardiology*
• Gastroenterology*
• HIV & Hepatitis C*
• Medical Oncology
• Neurology
• Obstetrics & Gynecology*
• Orthopedics*
• Pediatrics*

* Measure Updates

The CQMC is a diverse coalition of health care leaders representing over 75 consumer groups, medical associations, health insurance providers, purchasers, and other quality stakeholders, all working together to develop and recommend core sets of measures by clinical area to assess and improve the quality of health care in America. The CQMC is a public-private partnership between AHIP and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CQMC is currently convened by Battelle’s Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) in its role as the consensus-based entity.

Please click here for more information on the CQMC core measure sets.

About AHIP

AHIP is the national association whose members provide health care coverage, services, and solutions to hundreds of millions of Americans every day. We are committed to market-based solutions and public-private partnerships that make health care better and coverage more affordable and accessible for everyone. Visit www.ahip.org to learn how working together, we are Guiding Greater Health.

About the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Established in 1965, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the largest insurance payer in the United States, covering more than 130 million Americans through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Using a collaborative and human centered design approach, CMS develops and maintains quality measurement programs, the oversight and standards certification program, and determines coverage analysis. CMS sponsors numerous quality improvement and innovation programs, such as the Center for Innovation (CMMI) and the Hospital Improvement and Innovation Networks (HIIN). CMS is leading the country in developing value-based health care to improve the lives of all patients. These programs help set health care standards used by many organizations across health care today. Visit www.cms.gov for more information.