From The College September 2005

The complete newsletter is available in PDF format, below.

Featured Article

Quality Measurement in Health Care Looming

Collaboration, Member Involvement are Key

The push for quality measurement in health care is looming for many
specialties, and it promises to profoundly impact the medical profession.
In anticipation of that impact, the ACR is working through the activities
of its Quality Measures Committee to arm members for the coming changes.

Existing quality gaps in health care delivery harm patients and escalate costs. The application of information technology to support evidence-based care offers significant hope to close the quality gaps. Driven by the purchasers of health care, a reality of our current environment is the gathering momentum toward “pay-for-performance” reimbursement based on demonstration of the ability to deliver evidence-based care and to utilize health information systems. The ACR is committed to leading its members in the transformation to IT-supported patient care. Doing so is in the interest of our patients, to spare them potentially avoidable complications of diseases and treatment, and in the interest of our members, to prepare them to benefit from the emerging pay-for-performance reimbursement model.

For these reasons, among others, the Quality Measures Committee has set out to:
1) define the population of patients with rheumatic diseases to whom the quality indicators effort is being directed;
2) define and update the evidence-based guideline for managing that population;
3) define the quality indicators by which adherence to the guidelines
can be measured;
4) define the systems by which the measurement data can be collected, tracked, and reported; and
5) define the criteria by which effective treatment for these patients with
rheumatic diseases can be demonstrated.
The ACR recognizes that this issue is broader than rheumatology, so ACR quality-related activities must not be conducted in a vacuum. Barry M. Straube, MD, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Acting Director of the Office of Clinical Standards & Quality of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, gave a presentation at the ACR Board of Directors meeting in August that included an outline of CMS’s multi-faceted quality strategy. Dr. Straube confirmed that linking reimbursement to quality is one of the components of CMS’s current strategy.
There are several ways that
rheumatologists can become involved in the ACR’s quality efforts, including commenting on the ACR’s first set of drafted quality indicators for
rheumatology. The draft of the quality indicators set was approved by the ACR Board of Directors in August and can be viewed on the ACR’s Web site, www.rheumatology.org.
Comments will be accepted until September 30. The QMC will consider all comments and make any necessary revisions to the indicators after the public commentary period. The ACR anticipates distribution of a finalized indicator set in late November.
Finally, the QMC is planning a session for the upcoming ACR annual meeting that will educate rheumatologists about the development and implementation of pay-for-performance. In this session, Getting Paid for Performance: Quality Counts, presenters will:
1) discuss methods of reengineering care processes to improve
quality, enhance efficiency,
and reduce mistakes;

2) describe the ABIM Continuous Professional Development Program and its Practice Improvement Modules; and
3) identify the mission and activities of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

For more information on any of these activities, please contact Amy Miller at amiller@rheumatology.org or visit the
ACR Web site at www.rheumatology.org/
practice/qmc.