Quality measures hospitals are required to report currently are bloated and need to be trimmed down, according to the American Hospital Association. In a letter to the Measure Applications Partnership coordinating committee, AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock laid out 11 priority areas for hospital quality measurement.
"Our members are overwhelmed by the deluge of quality measures they are asked to report," the letter states. "We believe a more focused approach will lead to even more substantial improvements in care."
Hospital leaders came up with the following set of measure ideas that fall roughly into the National Quality Strategy's six areas of focus for federal efforts: Clinical effectiveness, efficiency, public and population health, patient safety, care coordination and patient and family centered care.
- Harm rates
- Infection rates
- Medication errors
- Risk adjusted mortality
- Effective patient transitions
- Readmission rates
- End of life preferences
- Cost per case or episode
- Adherence to guidelines for commonly overused procedures
- Diabetes control
- Obesity
The AHA is hoping for feedback and that its list of quality measure priorities "may help [stakeholders] envision how a shorter list of key measures might better meet their needs…and provide a basis for further conversation."