Medical Group Endorses 14 Quality Measures to Streamline Reporting, Reduce Burden

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Board of Directors has endorsed a set of 14 value measures they say will simplify the reporting process and limit the burden placed on physicians and group practices, while still reporting clinically relevant and actionable data.

The set of measures were selected to address duplicative measures and a lack of data standardization, the group said in a press release. They include process measures, which focus on quality improvement, and outcomes measures, which focus on the need to evaluate how care is provided to best drive quality improvement.

“Used correctly, quality measures provide an opportunity to evaluate care and drive improvements,” Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, AMGA president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “But, providers are saddled with too many measures that are not meaningful to how they deliver are. AMGA’s measures set represents a break from that and emphasizes the importance of value measures that are evidence-based, focused on outcomes, and relevant to clinical care.”

According to the press release, the set of measures will save providers time and reduce costs while simultaneously improving care by offering a standard set of measures for value-based contracts with payers.

The 14 measures selected are:

1. Emergency department use per 1000
2. Skilled nursing facility admissions per 1000
3. 30-day all-cause hospital readmission
4. Admissions for acute ambulatory sensitive conditions composite
5. Hemoglobin A1c poor control over 9%
6. Depression screening
7. Diabetes eye exam
8. Hypertension/high blood pressure control
9. Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems/health status/functional status
10. Breast cancer screening
11. Colorectal cancer screening
12. Cervical cancer screening
13. Pneumonia vaccination rate
14. Pediatric well-child visits (0 to 15 months)

“In addition to selecting clinically relevant measures, we chose measures that also have demonstrated results, account for patient experience, and have sufficient sample sizes to ensure statistic validity,” Scott Hines, MD, chief quality officer, Crystal Run Healthcare, said in a statement. “This set reflects the collective views of integrated systems and multispecialty medical groups that are leading the move to value-based care.

Hines added that the measures are not intended to replace all other measures, but instead serve as a standardized set for reporting purposes.

The set of measures follows CMS’ launch of their “Meaningful Measures” initiative, aimed at streamlining quality and cost measures. Noting the increasing number of quality measures over the years, CMS said part of its reasoning is to reduce the burden of quality reporting on providers so they can spend more time with patients. The list contains 32 measures, down from 184 originally submitted by stakeholders, that they said could improve quality in clinician practices, hospitals, and dialysis facilities.