NQF has launched a pilot initiative to address the well-recognized need for more eMeasures that focus on priority and gap areas in performance measurement and quality improvement. Through the pilot, eMeasures that are ready for implementation in real-world settings but that lack sufficient reliability and validity data needed to achieve NQF endorsement can be “approved for trial use.” This status will effectively get the needed eMeasures into the field while simultaneously facilitating the collection of additional data about the measures required for NQF endorsement.
The eMeasures
securing this status may also be used for internal performance improvement, as they
would not meet all the criteria indicating suitability for use in pay-for-performance
applications.
The Musculoskeletal Measures
Project is the first to pilot test the process for trial measure approval. The Musculoskeletal Standing Committee recently recommended four measures for trial measure approval:
- 2522 Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tuberculosis Screening
- 2525 Rheumatoid Arthritis: Disease modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (DMARD) Therapy
- 2549 Gout: Serum Urate Target
- 2550 Gout: ULT Therapy
The measures, which have been approved for trial use, can retain this status for three years. During this period, if sufficient data to assess reliability and validity have been collected, the eMeasure may
be considered for endorsement by NQF.
“NQF created the eMeasures for trial use pilot
to speed the delivery of promising measures needed to fill priority and gap
areas,” said Helen Burstin, chief scientific officer for the National Quality
Forum. “This new process is another good example of NQF efforts to modernize and
increase the flexibility of measure evaluation so that we can get to better
measures faster.”