ACO Proposed Rule: Nine out of Ten Quality Measures Mirror Other Quality Reporting Programs

High degree of commonality should enhance reporting and compliance

EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Newly proposed Medicare rules designed to promote and reward high-quality patient care under healthcare reform closely mirror quality reporting programs already well established as part of the American healthcare system, a MedeAnalytics analysis has found.

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The quality measure analysis is included in MedeAnalytics' white paper, "Accountable Care Organizations: Summary and Analysis of the Proposed Rule," available at the company's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Resource Center. MedeAnalytics is a healthcare performance management firm that collects and analyzes data to help hospitals, physician practices and payers ensure accountability and improve financial, operational and clinical outcomes, a key element of successfully managing ACOs.

The proposed rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on March 31, 2011 specifies 65 quality measures, of which 58 overlap with one or more other quality reporting programs, MedeAnalytics found. The other quality measurement programs include the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Prevention Quality Indicators and Patient Safety Indicators, the Healthcare Effectiveness and Data Information Set (HEDIS), Meaningful Use Stage 2, the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), and the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program.

"The high degree of commonality for quality measures should help ACOs meet the Shared Savings Program's year 1 quality performance standards, since healthcare providers are quite familiar with their nature, required data collection methods and reporting processes," commented Mino Sastry, MPH, a product marketing manager for MedeAnalytics' provider solutions.  

About ACOs

While the ACO label has been around since 2006, it was mentioned in numerous healthcare reform bills proposed in 2009 and was ultimately included in Section 3022 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) as the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The ACA's ACO provision covers Medicare ACOs. The Shared Savings Program is a new approach to the delivery of healthcare aimed at: (1) better care for individuals; (2) better health for populations; and (3) lower growth in expenditures.

About MedeAnalytics

Founded in 1994, MedeAnalytics delivers performance management solutions across the healthcare system—including hospitals, physician practices and payers—to ensure accountability and improve financial, operational and clinical outcomes. For more information, visit www.medeanalytics.com.

SOURCE MedeAnalytics