Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Quality Measurement and Improvement
Lecture:Current quality measures in use
Slide content:Clinical Quality Measures and HITECH One goal: Improving quality, safety, and efficiency Meaningful use achieved over multiple stages and years Quality requirements are closely aligned with other CMS quality reporting programs There is ongoing discussion regarding implementing new measures or discontinuing meaningful use 12
Slide notes:HITECHs meaningful use rules were predicated on five health care goals for the United States. One of these goals is improving quality, safety, and efficiency with core measures for both eligible professionals and eligible hospitals. The ultimate goal was that [quote] meaningful use compliance will result in better clinical outcomes, improved population health outcomes, increased transparency and efficiency, empowered individuals and more robust research data on health systems. [end quote] Eligible professionals or providers could participate in the meaningful use program for either Medicare or Medicaid patientsbut not both. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are sixty-five or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with end-stage renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant). Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps low-income individuals or families pay for the costs associated with long-term medical and custodial care, provided they qualify. Medicaid is run by the state, and coverage may vary from one state to another. The meaningful use framework provided a platform for these objectives to evolve over a period of years through a series of stages. Meaningful use was deployed in 2010, and objectives shifted as the program continued. There is ongoing discussion regarding implementation of new measures, and there have been discussions about discontinuing the meaningful use program, particularly in light of the advent of MACRA, which is discussed later in this lecture. Under meaningful use, eligible providers and hospitals have been required to report clinical quality measures (CQM) selected by CMS for using certified EHR technology in order to successfully participate in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. The CMS website provides detailed information about requirements for meaningful use stages and the reporting time schedule that providers must follow, which is based on the stage they are reporting on. Also, providers must use the specified release of their certified EHR system that corresponds to the stage for which they are reporting. The EHR certification program has been regulated in conjunction with the meaningful use program. The following slides summarize the CQM measurement reporting requirement options. 12