Measures used by the federal agencies under HHS for reporting, payment and quality improvement are now available in one location on a new Web site.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse, which it said is designed to advance collaboration and align quality measurement efforts throughout the industry. Healthcare professionals can use the inventory to aid them in quality policy and implementation initiatives, according to AHRQ. The site also features a comparison tool for different measures, summaries of how the measures were developed and expert commentary from the editorial board overseeing the clearinghouse.
The database includes measure sets from the Administration on Aging, AHRQ, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CMS, the Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, the Office of Public Health and Science, the National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. AHRQ said it will continue to refine the Web site and database to improve how professionals use the measures. -- by Jean DerGurahian