The National Quality Forum has endorsed four new measures related to the U.S. healthcare system's use of funds and resources. The measures—two from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and two from the Bloomington, Minn.-based HMO HealthPartners—address diabetes care, cardiovascular care, and primary-care resource use.

The announcement marks the first phase of NQF's work in resource use measurement, which the organization began to target in 2009. Future measures will focus on pulmonary care, cancer care, and bone and joint conditions, the NQF said in a news release.

“The endorsed resource measures—when used alongside measures of the quality of care—can be useful to a wide range of healthcare stakeholders,” said Dr. Tom Rosenthal, chief medical officer and associate vice chancellor at UCLA School of Medicine, and co-chair of the NQF's cost and resource use steering committee. “Providers can better manage costs and care delivery if they understand how resources are being used, and health plans and consumers can better identify providers who are delivering high-quality care at lower costs when the measures are publicly reported.”

The measures are open for appeal until Feb. 29, NQF said.