NQF is committed to improving healthcare quality through the use of health information technology (IT). Care can be safer, more affordable, and better coordinated when electronic health records (EHRs), and other clinical IT systems capture data needed to measure performance, and when that data is easily shared between IT systems.
Our health IT initiatives – made up of several distinct yet related areas of focus – are designed to support an electronic environment based on these ideals; more importantly, they are designed to help clinicians improve patient care.
Related NQF Work
- Critical Paths for Creating Data Platforms
Recent legislation and related regulations have identified a number of performance measurement concepts that challenge current measurement capabilities. The Critical Paths for Creating Data Platforms project will assess the readiness of electronic data to support selected innovative measurement concepts that are critical to HHS’ policy needs. Two projects were selected:
- Care Coordination focused on transitions of care and communication of the patient plan of care
- Patient Safety focused on acute care infusion devices
- Quality Data Model
The Quality Data Model (QDM) provides measure developers with a structure or "grammar" for defining quality measures in a standardized format. With the QDM, measure developers can consistently and uniformly express clinical concepts within quality measures.
NQF hosted a virtual forum on December 12 to help participants understand the importance of QDM in measure development. Learn more about the webinar.
- Measure Authoring Tool
The Measure Authoring Tool (MAT) is a publicly available, web-based tool for measure developers to create eMeasures. The MAT now operates under the direction of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For more information on the MAT, please visit: www.emeasuretool.cms.gov
- eMeasures
Quality measurement is increasingly moving to an electronic platform. Electronic measures (eMeasures) are a core component of this transition, as they support greater standardization and comparability across measures as well as performance and outcomes data.
- eMeasure Learning Collaborative
The eMeasure Learning Collaborative is a public forum convened by NQF to promote shared learning and advance knowledge and best practices related to the development and implementation of eMeasures.
- Health IT Knowledge Base
The Health IT Knowledge Base is designed to provide answers to some of the most common technical questions surround NQF's health IT initiatives, including the Quality Data Model, the Measure Authoring Tool, and eMeasures.
