Performance measurement system criteria released
JCAHO to enforce all standards in stages
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations released the framework -- or attributes of conformance -- it will use to review and select accredited performance measurement systems that health care organizations must choose from. The framework consists of six broad characteristics and identifies specific criteria relating to each characteristic.
The Council on Performance Measurement, which penned the framework, acknowledges that performance measurement systems will not be able to meet all of the criteria right away. Therefore, each criterion specifies whether it must be met this year or sometime in the future. The measurement system attributes consist of:
* quality of the performance measures in the system;
* database capability;
* the quality of the data collected in relation to the measures;
* risk adjustment and stratification;
* provision of measurement feedback to participating organizations;
* relevance to the accreditation process.
Systems meeting the necessary criteria will be recommended by the council for initial approval.
Existing measurement systems in use at health care organizations may not be appropriate from an accreditation standpoint, says Jerod Loeb, PhD, director of the Department of Research and Evaluation and the chief scientific officer for the Joint Commission. He stresses that the Joint Commission is not labeling those systems as good or bad, and that they may still be used for quality improvement processes. An accredited measurement system would eventually have to be in place, but no date for health care organization compliance has been established.
"This is meant to be an evolutionary process," Loeb says. "Over time, in response to public comments and response from the field, [the criteria] will be molded and shaped in an appropriate fashion. A measurement system that today is unable to meet the basic attributes and criteria established by the council, with some limited work on its part, may well meet those attributes and criteria in the future."
Based on her reading of the framework, Deborah Hughes, RN, MPM, CPHQ, CMSC, manager of accreditation services/performance improvements at HCIA, a health care data management company in Louisville, KY, expects it will be helpful.
"It will force quality managers across the country to look at measurement systems the way they should be used," she says. "It will force them to look at processes and outcomes. [The framework] will make sure that the measurement system has a documented objective."
As part of the development of the framework, the council is looking for input from accredited organizations, health professionals, purchasers, the public, and performance measurement systems. Comments will be addressed at the council's spring meeting. To request a copy of the Framework for the Selection of Performance Measurement Systems and Attributes of Conformance or for information on submitting comments, contact Jerod Loeb, Joint Commission, One Renaissance Blvd., Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181; or call (708) 916-5971. *
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