NQF Forms Standing Committee to Address Healthcare Disparities 

Washington, DC—The National Quality Forum has convened a Disparities Standing Committee (DSC) to enhance NQF’s focus on reducing and eventually eliminating disparities through quality measurement. Comprised of 22 individuals with a broad breadth and depth of expertise and experience in disparities measurement and improvement, the committee members include:

• Marshall Chin, MD, MPH (Co-chair) – University of Chicago
• Ninez Ponce, MPP, PhD (Co-chair) – UCLA Fielding School of Public Health; UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
• Philip Alberti, PhD – Association of American Medical Colleges
• Susannah Bernheim, MD, MHS – Yale-New Haven Hospital Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation
• Michelle Cabrera – SEIU California
• J. Emilio Carrillo, MD, MPH – NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; Weill Cornell Medical College
• Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH – Johns Hopkins Center to Eliminate Cardiovascular Disparities; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Ronald Copeland, MD – Kaiser Permanente
• Jose Escarce, MD, PhD – David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
• Traci Ferguson, MD, MBA, CPE – WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
• Kevin Fiscella, MD – University of Rochester
• Nancy Garrett, PhD – Hennepin County Medical Center
• Romana Hasnain-Wynia – PhD, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
• Lisa Lezzoni, MD, MSc – Mongan Institute for Health Policy; Harvard Medical School 
• David Nerenz, PhD – Henry Ford Health System
• Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD, CRNP-Neonatal – University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Nursing
• Robert Rauner, MD, MPH – Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln
• Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH – American Heart Association
• Sarah Hudson Scholle, MD, MPH, DrPH – National Committee for Quality Assurance
• Thomas Sequist, MD, MPH – Partners HealthCare
• Christie Teigland, PHD – Inovalon, Inc.
• Mara Youdelman, JD, LLM – National Health Law Program

“The persistent disparities in our healthcare system are untenable if we are to truly improve quality for all,” said Christine K. Cassel, NQF president and CEO. “This powerhouse committee will provide the roadmap we need to effectively use measurement and associated policy levers to proactively eliminate disparities.”

The DSC will serve as a resource for all NQF activities, including measure evaluation, selection, recommended use, and improvement. In this role, the committee will offer guidance to the Consensus Standards Approval Committee (CSAC), Measure Applications Partnership (MAP), NQF Standing Committees, and the NQF Board of Directors.

A key focus of the committee will be to review implementation of the revised NQF policy regarding risk adjustment for socioeconomic status (SES) and related demographic factors. The DSC will evaluate the two-year trial period that is testing this policy change. Over time, the committee will assess any emerging evidence of the impact of SES-adjusted measures on patients and providers. The committee will report its findings to the NQF Board in 2017, after the SES trial has concluded.

The committee begins its work on December 3. Learn more about the DSC on NQF’s website.

###

The National Quality Forum leads national collaboration to improve health and healthcare quality through measurement. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.