NQF Endorses National Voluntary Consensus Standards 

Washington, DC (May 13, 2010) – At its meeting on May 5, the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors ratified the Consensus Standards and Approval Committee’s (CSAC) recommendations to endorse standards for hospital psychiatric care, statin medication at discharge, and HCAHPS.

• HCAHPS: The board voted to continue endorsement of the survey tool Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), reviewed as part of NQF’s measure maintenance process. The 30-day appeal period for this NQF-endorsed measure is open through June 11.
  
   
• Discharged on Statin Medication: This measure was reviewed under NQF’s ad hoc review process. NQF endorsement was maintained, and the patient population was expanded to include those discharged with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The 30-day appeal period for this measure is open through June 11.
  
   
• Hospital Psychiatric Care: Two measures for hospital psychiatric care that address seclusion and restraints were endorsed. The 30-day appeal period for these measures is open through June 4.

The NQF board also endorsed a set of practices on care coordination – the 30-day appeal period for those measures will be launched soon.

NQF is a voluntary consensus standards-setting organization. Any party may request reconsideration of the recommendations by notifying NQF in writing via e-mail at appeals@qualityforum.org within the appeal period. For an appeal to be considered, the notification e-mail must include information clearly demonstrating that the appellant has interests that are directly and materially affected by the NQF-endorsed® recommendations and that the NQF decision has had (or will have) an adverse effect on those interests. 

The mission of the National Quality Forum is to improve the quality of American healthcare by setting national priorities and goals for performance improvement, endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs. NQF, a non-profit organization (qualityforum.org) with diverse stakeholders across the public and private health sectors, was established in 1999 and is based in Washington, DC.