American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association methodology for the selection and creation of performance measures for quantifying the quality of cardiovascular care
Abstract
The ability to quantify the quality of cardiovascular care critically depends on the translation of recommendations for high-quality care into the measurement of that care. As payers and regulatory agencies increasingly seek to quantify healthcare quality, the implications of the measurement process on practicing physicians are likely to grow. This statement describes the methodology by which the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association approach creating performance measures and devising techniques for quantifying those aspects of care that directly reflect the quality of cardiovascular care. Methods for defining target populations, identifying dimensions of care, synthesizing the literature, and operationalizing the process of selecting measures are proposed. It is hoped that new sets of measures will be created through the implementation of this approach, and consequently, through the use of such measurement sets in the context of quality improvement efforts, the quality of cardiovascular care will improve.
This document was approved by the American College of Cardiology Foundation Board of Trustees on January 26, 2005 and by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee on December 3, 2004.
The ACC/AHA Task Force on Performance Measures makes every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest that might arise as a result of an outside relationship or personal interest of a member of the writing committee. Specifically, all members of the writing committee are required to provide disclosure statements of all such relationships that might be perceived as real or potential conflicts of interest. See Appendix for author disclosures for this document.
When citing this document, the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association would appreciate the following citation format: Spertus JA, Eagle KA, Krumholz HM, Mitchell KR, Normand ST. ACC/AHA methodology for the selection and creation of performance measures for quantifying the quality of cardiovascular care: a report of the ACC/AHA Task Force on Performance Measures. J Am Coll Cardiol 2005;45:1147–56.
Copies: This document is available on the World Wide Web sites of the American College of Cardiology (www.acc.org) and the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org) and is printed in the April 5, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the April 5, 2005 issue of Circulation. Single copies are available for $10.00 each by calling 1-800-253-4636 or writing to the American College of Cardiology Foundation, Resource Center, 9111 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814-1699. To purchase bulk reprints (specify reprint number, 71-0315): up to 999 copies, call 1-800-611-6083 (US only) or fax 413-665-2671; 1000 or more copies, call 214-706-1789, fax 214-691-6342, or e-mail pubauth@heart.org.
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ABSTRACT