A wide variety of programs and organizations require physicians to report health measures, often non-standardized—so which metrics matter most? A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) outlines 15 core metrics to assess health and health care measurement and provides a clearer picture of what’s necessary for physicians and other stakeholders to adopt these measures.
Many of the quality measures in place today are similar, but the differences across programs and organizations often are enough to prevent direct comparisons of data or streamlined reporting and diffuse attention from what is important.
“The establishment of a core set of measures could improve efficiency and ensure a focus on the most important health outcomes,” the report said.
View an infographic of the 15 measures and examples of each.
The report’s findings are consistent with a recent joint study from the AMA and RAND Corporation. The study found an uncoordinated approach has resulted in too much variability in the large array of measures being promoted across the health system.
“Medical practices struggle to cope with hundreds of uncoordinated measures in order to create a coherent response that will advance the high goals of new delivery and payment models,” AMA CEO and Executive Vice President James L. Madara, MD, said in a written statement. “Chasing data for uncoordinated measures requires significant time and resources that could be better spent on patient care or technology that practices need to achieve the desired outcomes for patients.”
In a panel during the report’s release Wednesday, Dr. Madara discussed potential barriers and benefits to physicians adopting the recommended metrics.
“These goals will need to be assisted by electronic health records that actually function in a way that allows timely availability of actionable clinical data at the point of care for all providers,” he said. “The recent repeal of the [Medicare] sustainable growth rate has also been important …. A lot of that bill is about payment and delivery reform and is simpatico with this report.”
“Leadership will be required at nearly every level of the health system” to implement these measures, according to the report.
The report findings mesh with the AMA’s Professional Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability initiative, which is ensuring that physicians can successfully navigate the evolving health care environment through sustainable practices that can result in improved outcomes for patients and greater professional satisfaction for physicians.
