NCQA, Health Plans to Measure Patient-Reported Outcomes
The National Committee for Quality Assurance has partnered with four health plans to identify approaches to collect patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs).
Source: Thinkstock
By - The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has selected four health plans to test a new performance standard for collecting patient-reported outcomes measures, or PROMs.
NCQA’s Person-Driven Outcome Measurement demonstration project aims to improve quality measurement within healthcare by evaluating outcomes on an individual basis. The organization has selected Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW) as one of the first health plans to determine the effectiveness of using PROMs to assess the quality of care.
“Existing care measures often may not accurately reflect what is most important to people, particularly adults with complex care needs and we hope to change that,” says Erin Giovannetti, Senior Research Scientist at the NCQA. “Community Health Plan of Washington brings a unique approach and we look forward to the findings from this project.”
CHPW will test methods for collecting person-reported outcome measures for 200 beneficiaries across multiple care management programs. Leaders at CHPW see the project as a way to advance quality of care and beneficiary engagement.
“This demonstration is an opportunity to make valuable contributions to the field of public health research and work towards truly patient-centered care,” said Leanne Berge, CEO of CHPW. “We are honored to be selected and hopeful that this will encourage members to become more engaged in their health, which in turn will lead to improved quality of care and improved health outcomes.”
The project has received $2.1 million in funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation and The SCAN Foundation, and will include participation from over 800 patients and other provider organizations.
Patty Jones, Chief of Health Services at CHPW, said that traditional care management may not consider a person’s individual lifestyle and social needs, which can impact overall health. She expressed optimism about CHPW’s involvement in the project and the project’s potential to address these gaps in care management.
“We’re enthused to be part of this pilot and test these approaches to developing person-driven care outcomes. This approach is at the core of our mission and the pilot focuses on the vulnerable and complex populations that we work with every day.
