More hospitals are adopting and reporting electronic clinical quality measures to boost quality improvement, according to The Joint Commission's 2017 annual report released Tuesday.
Last year, 470 accredited hospitals submitted eCQM data to The Joint Commission, compared to just 34 hospitals in 2015.
Accredited hospitals displayed a strong awareness of upcoming eCQM reporting requirements for 2018, and most shared plans to report eCQM data to CMS next year, according to survey data included in the report.
To help hospitals prepare for the reporting requirements, The Joint Commission identified the six most important components for successfully adopting and reporting eCQMs:
- Establish multidisciplinary team structures for eCQM adoption
- Repurpose quality abstractors and "growing" clinical informaticists
- Provide robust eCQM resources and training to staff
- Embrace continuous improvement and iterative development
- Incorporate eCQMs in organizational strategy
- Engage physicians in the process
"Hospitals that voluntarily shared information with The Joint Commission over the past year are helping the entire industry move forward by showing others how to utilize electronic clinical quality measures to improve care and ultimately achieve better health and save lives," said David Baker, MD, MPH, executive vice president for the division of healthcare quality evaluation at The Joint Commission.