This NQF project seeks to identify and endorse measures suitable for both public accountability and quality improvement related to outcomes and efficiency of hospital care.
To achieve quality care in hospitals and across the continuum, there is a need to focus on the six domains of healthcare quality: safety, effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, equity, and patient-centered care. There is a growing set of measures on safety and effectiveness, though usually more oriented to process. As we move towards a broader view of hospital-based care, there is a need for measures that specifically address the outcomes and efficiency of care. Further, the growing recognition of the critical role that the hospital plays as the focal point for coordination to ambulatory care, home care, and skilled nursing facilities necessitates measures that take the broader view of care beyond the walls of the hospital. For example, the alarming rate of readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries suggests the need for both improved processes in the hospital at transition points, as well as tracking of the follow-up visits to the healthcare home.
The project will be divided into two separate, though related tasks. Since measures of hospital readmission are the most urgently needed, the first task, to be accomplished in a relatively short period, will focus only on hospital readmission measures. The second task will take a more expansive view of potential measures of hospital outcomes including for example, quality of the hospital transition, improvement in health-related quality of life and functional status, palliative care symptom control, surgical outcomes, and efficiency.
The candidate measures will be considered for NQF endorsement as voluntary consensus standards. Agreement around the recommendations will be developed through NQF’s formal Consensus Development Process (version 1.8). This project, like all NQF activities, involves the active participation of representatives from across the spectrum of healthcare stakeholders and is guided by a Steering Committee.
Funding for this project has been provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. For more information, contact Karen Pace or Eric Colchamiro at 202.783.1300 or via email, hospitaloutcomes@qualityforum.org.