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Seven new core quality measure sets to be used as a basis for quality-based payments. This was recently announced by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and its member plans’ Chief Medical Officers, leaders from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Quality Forum (NQF), as well as national physician organizations, employers, consumers, and patient groups. For Public Health Departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Community Health Centers, this should help reduce the complexities of meaningful use compliance.
 
According to a CMS press release, the Collaborative’s goal is to establish broadly agreed upon core measure sets that could be harmonized across both commercial and government payers. They also believe this will help accelerate the shift to value-based payment. The new sets will make the measures meaningful to patients, consumers, and physicians, simplifying measure selection, while reducing collection burdens and administration costs.
 
“In the U.S. Health care system, where we are moving to measure and pay for quality, patients and care providers deserve a uniform approach to measure quality,” said CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt. “This agreement today will reduce unnecessary burden for physicians and accelerate the country’s movement to better quality.”
 
The seven measure sets include:
• ACO and PCMH / Primary Care Measures
• Cardiovascular Measures
• Gastroenterology Measures
• HIV / Hep C Core Measures
• Medical Oncology Measures
• OB/GYN Measures
• Orthopedic Measures

These are just the first seven sets published. CMS and the Collaborative will continue to monitor progress, invite broader participation, and add additional measures and measure sets.