NQF Updates Policy on Time-Limited Endorsement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFEB 19, 2010
CONTACT:
Stacy Fiedler, NQF202-783-1300
press@qualityforum.orgNQF Updates Policy on Time-Limited Endorsement
Washington, DC - The Board of Directors of the National Quality Forum has approved an updated policy on assessing measures that have been endorsed time-limited and on future use of time-limited endorsement. For measures already endorsed time-limited, the updated policy encourages the use of electronic data platforms by providing additional time for measure stewards to begin testing measures for use in EHRs. The policy also tightens the time frame for review on future use of time-limited endorsement.
NQF time-limited endorsement is applied to measures that meet all of NQF’s endorsement criteria with the exception of field testing and are critical to advancing quality improvement. When measures are granted this two-year endorsement (other endorsement is three years) measure developers must test the measure and return results to NQF within the two-year window of time-limited endorsement.
Updated Policy for Currently Endorsed Measures. The updated time-limited endorsement policy allows a 12 month extension for testing time-limited endorsed measures on electronic data platforms. Stewards of time-limited endorsed measures that are set to expire in 2010 and 2011 are eligible for this option. If the steward selects this option they must return two separate sets specifications and testing results within 12 months: 1) specifications and testing results for the original data source, which could include paper medical records or clinical attestation using CPT-II coding and 2) specifications and testing results for an electronic platform.
Stewards must provide testing results to demonstrate meeting the NQF criteria including validity, risk adjustment, comparability of data sources, and exclusions based on the current data source and the use of specifications for EHRs, with compatibility analyses provided for different data sources.
At the end of the 12 month extension NQF will undertake a full maintenance review of the measure.
Future Endorsement. To allow more timely endorsement decisions, the NQF board of directors has also approved a modification to the current time-limited endorsement policy that requires measure stewards to conduct testing on time-limited endorsed measures within 12 months of endorsement, rather than the previously designated 24-month testing period.
Time-limited endorsement will continue to be used on a limited basis and will only be granted when all endorsement criteria are met except field testing, the measures are not complex, and a critical timeline, such as a legislative mandate, must be met.
To read the full time-limited endorsement policy visit NQF’s website.
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.
