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The absence of national priorities and goals for performance improvement impedes the efforts of those involved in all facets of performance measurement, improvement, and reporting. A sizable amount of resources and energy are currently being invested in the development of performance measures by many organizations including accrediting bodies, professional societies and boards, government organizations, and others. To date, NQF has endorsed about 400 performance measures and practices, and many more are in the “measure pipeline”, some in the early stages of development and others moving through the NQF endorsement process. In spite of all these activities, it is unclear whether attention and resources are being focused on “high leverage” areas—aspects of performance for which improvement will yield the greatest gains in terms of better health and healthcare.
To address this issue, the NQF Board of Directors recently approved expansion of the NQF mission to include working in partnership with other leadership organizations to establish national priorities and goals for performance measurement and public reporting. This new responsibility is intended to complement NQF’s traditional role as the national standard-setting organization for performance measures. The NQF recognizes that national priority-setting must be a collaborative process with other key stakeholders who engage in priority-setting efforts of their own. In response, the NQF established a committee, the National Priorities Partners (NPP), co-chaired by Don Berwick (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) and Margaret O’Kane (National Committee for Quality Assurance), and including representatives of 27 major national organizations that represent “effecter arms” for purposes of implementation and acting on national priorities and goals. Access a background presentation on the effort.
The National Priorities Partners Committee will work toward consensus agreement on a core set of national priorities, which does not mean that agreement must be unanimous. In addition, it is recognized that the participating organizations will vary in their ability to directly implement the priorities within their own organizations. However, all participating organizations will be asked to advocate for the priorities and to take any actions within their power to encourage their implementation.
The NPP will identify a short list of priorities for measurable improvement over a 3-5 year window. Access more information on the work plan and draft list of priorities.
For more information, please contact Karen Adams, PhD, at (202) 783-1300 or at priorities@qualityforum.org.