NQF Begins Annual Review of Performance Measures for Federal Programs 

Washington, DC — The National Quality Forum’s Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) has begun its annual review of standardized performance measures that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering for use in federal programs. The list of measures under consideration is open for an initial public comment period through December 6, 2018, at 6:00 pm ET.

MAP brings together stakeholders from the private and public sectors to provide guidance to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the selection of performance measures for federal public reporting and payment programs. This includes the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) program legislated by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

“MAP’s recommendations advance the nation’s healthcare priorities and ensure that patients get the high-value care they need and deserve,” said Shantanu Agrawal, MD, MPhil, NQF’s President and CEO. “NQF is committed to promoting measures that advance care, while also recognizing leading measure gaps that must be addressed.”

NQF has convened MAP annually since 2011 bringing together more than 135 healthcare leaders and experts from over 90 private- and public-sector organizations to provide recommendations on the high-impact measures that will improve health and healthcare. MAP volunteers represent consumers, purchasers, employers, health plans, clinicians and providers, communities and states, suppliers, and federal agency liaisons.

The MAP Coordinating Committee and its hospital, clinician, post-acute and long-term care workgroups, identify measurement gaps across settings, prioritize high-impact measures, and recommend alignment of measures across federal programs.

MAP will deliver its measure recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by February 1, 2019, and publish its reports in February and March 2019.

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The National Quality Forum (NQF) is the nation’s resource for healthcare quality measurement and improvement. NQF is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organization that brings healthcare stakeholders together to recommend quality measures and improvement strategies that reduce costs and help patients get better care. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.