Promoting a ‘Common Language’ for Quality Measures and Electronic Health Records 

Washington, DC - The National Quality Forum (NQF) is seeking public comment through May 12 on the Quality Data Model (QDM), Version 3.0. The QDM, formerly referred to as Quality Data Set or QDS, provides a way to describe clinical concepts in a standardized format for use in measures and electronic health records (EHRs).

The QDM offers a common language for the development and output of quality measures in an electronic environment. This common language, or standard “data dictionary,” promotes a shared understanding across important performance measurement stakeholders, including measure stewards, providers, and researchers, so terms and concepts are interpreted in the same way.

“Use of the QDM will enable more standardized, less burdensome quality measurement and reporting, and more consistent use of electronic health records,” said Floyd Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACP, senior vice president, health information technology at NQF. “This will ultimately lower the cost of measure development and allow physicians to have more direct and timely feedback as they seek to increase the quality and value of patient care.”

The current version contains updates based on feedback from the September 2010 comment period on version 2.1, as well as from information learned in applying the QDM to retooling more than 100 measures in 2010. Detail on the QDM, including the full list of the modifications found in version 3.0, can be found in the QDM Overview Document. To understand more of QDM’s technical details and specifications, refer to the companion document, QDM Technical Specification.

For more information on the Quality Data Model Version 3.0 and to submit comments, please visit NQF’s website. The public commenting period will be open through May 12, 2011, at 6:00pm ET. Member commenting will be available through May 19, 2011, at 6:00pm ET.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) operates under a three-part mission to improve the quality of American healthcare by: 

• building consensus on national priorities and goals for performance improvement and working in partnership to achieve them;  
• endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance; and 
• promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.