AMGA Endorses Streamlined Value Measurement Set to Reduce Reporting Burden
Alexandria, VA – AMGA’s Board of Directors has endorsed a set of value measures designed to simplify the reporting process and limit the burden on providers and group practices, while still reporting clinically relevant and actionable data.
The 14 measures were selected to address the flaws with the current quality measurement and reporting system, which suffers from duplicative measures and a lack of data standardization. AMGA members report hundreds of different quality measures to various public and private payers, the vast majority of which are not useful in evaluating or improving the quality of care provided. There is a significant cost to measure reporting. Research has indicated that, on average, U.S. physician practices across four common specialties annually spend more than $15.4 billion and 785 hours per physician to report quality measures.
AMGA believes that the use of this set of 14 core measures will ultimately save providers’ time and reduce costs while improving care. By offering a standard set of measures for value-based contracts with payers, the AMGA measure set will reduce the variation in the measures that are reported and help eliminate unnecessary confusion and administrative burden. The measurement set includes both process measures, such as cancer screening and immunization rates, which focus attention on quality improvement, and outcome measures, which emphasize the need to evaluate how care is provided to best drive quality improvement.
“Used correctly, quality measures provide an opportunity to evaluate care and drive improvements,” said Jerry Penso, M.D., M.B.A., AMGA president and chief executive officer. “But providers are saddled with too many measures that are not meaningful to how they deliver care. AMGA’s measure set represents a break from that and emphasizes the importance of value measures that are evidence-based, focused on outcomes, and relevant to clinical care.”
A task force of AMGA members, chaired by Scott Hines, M.D., Crystal Run Healthcare chief quality officer, developed this measure set in an effort to simplify the quality reporting process to reduce the burden of reporting and address related provider burnout.
“In addition to selecting clinically relevant measures, we chose measures that also have demonstrated results, account for patient experience, and have sufficient sample sizes to ensure statistical validity,” said Hines. “This set reflects the collective views of integrated systems and multispecialty medical groups that are leading the move to value-based care. It is not intended to replace all other measures, but instead serve as a standardized set for reporting purposes. Measures not included still have value when reported internally to drive quality improvement within healthcare provider organizations.”
Penso added, “AMGA members are focused on outcomes, and the measures endorsed today reflect the need for quality reporting to serve providers in achieving optimal results, instead of serving as yet another compliance exercise that does not meaningfully guide care improvements.”
The 14 measures are:
- Emergency Department use per 1,000
- SNF Admissions per 1,000
- 30-day all cause hospital readmission
- Admissions for acute ambulatory sensitive conditions composite
- HbA1C poor control > 9%
- Depression screening
- Diabetes eye exam
- Hypertension (HTN)/high blood pressure control
- CAHPS/health status/functional status
- Breast cancer screening
- Colorectal cancer screening
- Cervical cancer screening
- Pneumonia vaccination rate
- Pediatric well child visits (0-15 months)
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About AMGA
AMGA is a trade association leading the transformation of health care in America. Representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care, we advocate, educate, innovate, and empower our members to deliver the next level of high performance health. AMGA is the national voice promoting awareness of our members’ recognized excellence in the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, high-value care. More than 175,000 physicians practice in our member organizations, delivering care to one in three Americans.