Measuring performance improves health outcomes and processes of care, assists consumers and purchasers in selecting providers and health plans, and manages health care resources. Slowly, stakeholders are embracing measurement and its role in moving the health care system towards quality, efficacy, efficiency, and safety.
National and statewide health care providers, purchasers, and payers have been working to identify and implement quality indicators. The MMA is a member of the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (PCPI), formed by the AMA to develop quality indicators “by physicians, for physicians.”
Development, implementation, and reporting of indicators are occurring in various ways, by various stakeholders. Physicians and health care purchasers acknowledged the need for agreement in the use and dissemination of quality indicators and formed the Ambulatory care Quality Alliance (AQA). The AQA is collaboration between the medical community, insurers, and purchasers that has resulted in choosing criteria for data collection and reporting, prioritizing clinical conditions, and selecting the best measures for high-priority medical conditions.
Publications
Clinical performance measurement: part 1—getting the best out of it.
Goddard, M; Davies, HTO; Dawson, D; Mannion, R; McInnes, F.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Oct 2002; 95: 508
Clinical performance measurement: part 2—avoiding the pitfalls.
Goddard, M; Davies, HTO; Dawson, D; Mannion, R; McInnes, F.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Nov 2002; 95: 549
Google book search for Performance Measurement in Health Care
Google book Search for Quality Improvement in Health Care
Websites
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Ambulatory care Quality Alliance (AQA)
American Medical Association (AMA)
AMA’s Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
Institute of Medicine (IOM)
MN Community Measurement
National Guideline Clearinghouse site
National Quality Forum (NQF)
National Quality Measures Clearinghouse site
Stratis Health
Minnesota campaigns
MN Community Measurement
The MMA was a founding member of MN Community Measurement a nonprofit that measures and publically reports how well Minnesota providers perform on quality measures.
In 2007, MN Community Measurement was participating in a pilot project by The Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance (AQA) that for the first time will combine commercial insurer and Medicare information to measure and report on physician performance.