The National Quality Forum and Health Level 7 along with several other organizations have developed a new format for more effectively sharing quality measures electronically.
The health quality measure format, or HQMF, was developed as an HL7 ballot, with the American Health Information Management Association and Alschuler Associates also contributing to the work. The format standardizes the structure, metadata, definitions and logic of a quality measure. That standardization will make electronic data capture across computer systems easier, according to a news release from the organizations.
The standards-development group HL7 said it is looking for feedback on the ballot, which is open for public review and voting.
The HQMF work was conducted as part of an NQF contract with HHS to gauge effectiveness of healthcare spending, including the promotion of effective use of electronic health records.
