30
April
2018
|
07:00 AM
America/New_York

Guest Commentary: To provide better-quality care, measure what matters

Modern Healthcare published a guest commentary article by HSS chief value medical officer Catherine H. MacLean, MD, PhD, who addressed the importance of implementing better quality measures.

Dr. MacLean, who led a study with the American College of Physicians, found that only 37 percent of physician performance measures are valid.

"Metrics of convenience—like ones based on easy-to-collect administrative data—have become standard due to pressures for "more measures" while reducing the "burden" on the delivery system. While they may be accurate, they often do not measure what's most important in terms of improving health and achieving patient safety goals—and the current approach is indeed burdensome to the delivery system," she wrote.

Additionally, Dr. MacLean pointed out that the healthcare industry in the United States measures quality on a relative scale rather than against a set of standards.

"Quality measurement should be an integral part of real-time care delivery. Let's redirect the current administrative costs to collect measures that matter and reimagine care delivery activities that include routine collection and reporting of measures that matter at the point of service," she noted.

Read the full article at modernhealthcare.com [subscription required]. This article appeared in the April 30, 2018 print issue.