Measure Applications Partnership Finalizes Recommendations for Measures in Federal Quality Programs 

Washington, DC – The Measure Applications Partnership (MAP), convened and facilitated by the National Quality Forum (NQF), is a multistakeholder group that provides recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the selection of performance measures for federal health programs. MAP provides a coordinated look across federal programs at performance measures being considered. NQF is pleased to announce the publication of MAP’s 2020-2021 summarization report.

During the 2020-21 cycle, MAP reviewed 20 measures under consideration (XLSX), with one measure considered for two programs and one measure considered for eight programs. The measures reviewed included five process measures (including three COVID-19 vaccination measures), five cost/resource use measures, five outcome measures, three composite measures, and two patient-reported outcome performance measures (PRO-PMs). MAP’s pre-rulemaking recommendations for measures in these programs reflect the MAP Measure Selection Criteria (MSC) (PDF) and how well the measures address the goals of the program.

As part of the response to the COVID-19 crisis, CMS submitted three measures addressing COVID-19 vaccine administration rates for both healthcare personnel and patients. These measures were presented to MAP for review and conditionally recommended contingent on CMS bringing the measures back to MAP once the specifications are further refined and CMS considering an expedited process for the measures. MAP also provided feedback on CMS’ Quality Measurement Action Plan, focusing on practical considerations for digital measurement, directly addressing issues of health equity, and reducing measurement burden for healthcare providers.

The 2020-21 MAP Cycle pre-rulemaking final recommendations represent the input of the MAP Rural Health Workgroup that convened on January 6; the MAP Hospital, Clinician, and Post-Acute Care/Long-Term Care Workgroups that convened on January 11-12; and the MAP Coordinating Committee, which convened on January 25.

MAP will launch a 30-day Call for Nominations in the spring, seeking organizations and individual subject matter experts to serve on its Coordinating Committee and Workgroups. NQF encourages anyone interested in receiving notifications related to upcoming MAP activities to sign up for project alerts.

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About National Quality Forum
The National Quality Forum (NQF) works with members of the healthcare community to drive measurable health improvements together. NQF is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization that gives all healthcare stakeholders a voice in advancing quality measures and improvement strategies that lead to better outcomes and greater value. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.