Technology Supports Uniform Quality Measures Across CMS

Spatially Health — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 17:12:52 GMT

Quality measures that vary across Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) programs can create challenges: reporting burden and confusion of term meaning, to name two. Several leaders of CMS centers recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine promoting a solution to the current smorgasbord of standards. In particular, the article details a push for what they dub a “universal foundation”: a set of quality measures for use throughout multiple CMS programs.

Creating a set of standards to leverage across programs has challenges. For one, they need to work for different programs and disease areas. Then there are the gaps in current measures that a universal foundation could address. For example, the authors note the need for a measure for holistic well-being, something missing from current offerings.

With research quantifying the impact of social determinants of health (SDoH) on disparities in health outcomes, it stands to reason that to effectively characterize the factors contributing to holistic well-being, standards should include SDoH. Failure to do so would mean capping the positive impact these quality solutions will have on health outcomes as they would only operate within the medical realm.

Agreeing to incorporate SDoH in quality measurements is the first step towards holistic well-being.

What happens next to quality improvement involves a concert of synchrony among provider organizations, physicians, patients, insurers, community-based organizations, as well as state and local governments.

To do so successfully will require effective technology. For example, some platforms can zoom in within a zip code – even more specific than a neighborhood – to characterize the SDoH impacting patients. Such tooling can thus provide more compelling, personalized intervention recommendations to support providers in maintaining quality measures for SDoH.

The best part is that providers can verify the platform’s efficacy: effective SDoH platforms will show improved patient health outcomes and increased ROI.

To see how Spatially Health's platform can help you maintain quality measures for SDoH and improve patient health outcomes, request a demo today. Take the first step towards promoting equity and ensuring that your patients receive the best care possible.