Outcome

CollaboRATE Shared Decision Making Score

CollaboRATE is a patient-reported measure of shared decision making which contains three brief questions that patients, their parents, or their representatives complete following a clinical encounter. The CollaboRATE measure provides a performance score representing the percentage of adults 18 and older who experience a high level of shared decision making.

Date Reviewed: April 1, 2021

Gains in Patient Activation (PAM) Scores at 12 Months

The Patient Activation Measure® (PAM®) is a 10 or 13 item questionnaire that assesses an individual´s knowledge, skill and confidence for managing their health and health care. The measure assesses individuals on a 0-100 scale. There are 4 levels of activation, from low (1) to high (4). The measure is not disease specific, but has been successfully used with a wide variety of chronic conditions, as well as with people with no conditions. The performance score would be the change in score from the baseline measurement to follow-up measurement, or the change in activation score over time for the eligible patients associated with the accountable unit. The outcome of interest is the patient’s ability to self-manage. High quality care should result in gains in ability to selfmanage for most chronic disease patients. The outcome measured is a change in activation over time. The change score would indicate a change in the patient´s knowledge, skills, and confidence for selfmanagement. A positive change would mean the patient is gaining in their ability to manage their health.

A “passing” score for eligible patients would be to show an average net 3-point PAM score increase in a 6-12 month period. An “excellent” score for eligible patients would be to show an average net 6-point PAM score increase in a 6-12 month period. An “excellent” score would be for eligible patients to show an average of a 6-point PAM score increase in a 6-12 month period.

Date Reviewed: April 1, 2021

Hospital-Wide, 30-Day, All-Cause Unplanned Readmission (HWR) Rate for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System Groups

The 30-day Hospital-Wide, All-Cause Unplanned Readmission (HWR) Rate for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Groups measure is a risk-standardized readmission rate for beneficiaries age 65 or older who were hospitalized and experienced an unplanned readmission for any cause to a short-stay acute-care hospital within 30 days of discharge. The measure attributes readmissions to up to three MIPS participating clinician groups, as identified by their Medicare Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and assesses each group’s readmission rate. This clinician group-level, risk-standardized, all-cause unplanned readmission measure is a re-specified version of the hospital-level measure, “Hospital-wide Allcause Unplanned Readmission Measure” (NQF 1789), which is currently reported within the Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program. This measure will replace the existing All-Cause Readmission (ACR) measure currently in use in QPP.

Date Reviewed: April 1, 2021

Person-Centered Primary Care Measure PRO-PM (PCPCM PRO-PM)

The Person-Centered Primary Care Measure Patient Reported Outcome Performance Measure (PCPCM PRO-PM) uses the PCPCM PROM (a comprehensive and parsimonious set of 11 patient-reported items) to assess the broad scope of primary care. Unlike other primary care measures, the PCPCM PRO-PM measures the high value aspects of primary care based on a patient’s relationship with the provider or practice. Patients identify the PCPCM PROM as meaningful and able to communicate the quality of their care to their clinicians and/or care team. The items within the PCPCM PROM are based on extensive stakeholder engagement and comprehensive reviews of the literature.

Date Reviewed: April 1, 2021

Plan All-Cause Readmissions (PCR)

For patients 18 years of age and older, the number of acute inpatient stays during the measurement year that were followed by an unplanned acute readmission for any diagnosis within 30 days and the predicted probability of an acute readmission. Data are reported in the following categories:
1. Count of Index Hospital Stays* (denominator)
2. Count of 30-Day Readmissions (numerator)
3. Average Adjusted Probability of Readmission
*An acute inpatient stay with a discharge during the first 11 months of the measurement year (e.g., on or between January 1 and December 1).

Date Reviewed: April 1, 2021

HIV: Viral Load Suppression

Percentage of patients, regardless of age, with a diagnosis of HIV with a HIV viral load less than 200 copies/mL at last HIV viral load test during the measurement year.  A medical visit is any visit in an outpatient/ambulatory care setting with a nurse practitioner, physician, and/or a physician assistant who provides comprehensive HIV care.  

Date Reviewed: November 4, 2018

Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c Control (

The percentage of patients 18-75 years of age with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) whose most recent HbA1c level is <8.0% during the measurement year.

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

Controlling High Blood Pressure for People with Serious Mental Illness

RETIRED REVIEW: This measure has been retired by the measure steward or is not relevant to internal medicine. This measure will not be re-reviewed by the PMC.

The percentage of patients 18-85 years of age with serious mental illness who had a diagnosis of hypertension (HTN) and whose blood pressure (BP) was adequately controlled during the measurement year.
Note: This measure is adapted from an existing health plan measure used in a variety of reporting programs for the general population (NQF #0018: Controlling High Blood Pressure). It was originally endorsed in 2009 and is owned and stewarded by NCQA. The specifications for the existing measure (Controlling High Blood Pressure NQF #0018) have been updated based on 2013 JNC-8 guideline. NCQA will submit the revised specification for Controlling High Blood Pressure NQF #0018 in the 4th quarter 2014 during NQF’s scheduled measure update period. This measure uses the new specification to be consistent with the current guideline.

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

Dehydration Admission Rate (PQI 10)

Admissions with a principal diagnosis of dehydration per 100,000 population, ages 18 years and older. Excludes obstetric admissions and transfers from other institutions.
[NOTE: The software provides the rate per population. However, common practice reports the measure as per 100,000 population. The user must multiply the rate obtained from the software by 100,000 to report admissions per 100,000 population.]

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

National Healthcare Safety Network Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI)

Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR) of healthcare-associated, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTI) will be calculated among patients in bedded inpatient care locations, except level II or level III neonatal intensive care units (NICU). This includes acute care general hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, oncology hospitals, and behavior health hospitals.

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

National Healthcare Safety Network Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI) Outcome Measure

Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR) and Adjusted Ranking Metric (ARM) of healthcare-associated, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) will be calculated among patients in bedded inpatient care locations. This includes acute care general hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, oncology hospitals, and behavioral health hospitals.

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

National Healthcare Safety Network Facility-Wide Inpatient Hospital Onset MRSA Bacteremia Outcome

Standardized infection ratio (SIR) and Adjusted Ranking Metric (ARM) of hospital-onset unique blood source MRSA Laboratory-identified events (LabID events) among all inpatients in the facility.

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

National Healthcare Safety Network Facility-Wide Inpatient Hospital-Onset Clostridium Difficile (CDI) Outcome Measure

Standardized infection ratio (SIR) and Adjusted Ranking Metric (ARM) of hospital-onset CDI Laboratory-identified events (LabID events) among all inpatients in the facility, excluding well-baby nurseries and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

Proportion of Patients with a Chronic Condition that have a Potentially Avoidable Complication during a Calendar Year

Percent of adult population aged 18+ years who were identified as having at least one of the following six chronic conditions: Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Heart Failure (HF), Hypertension (HTN), or Diabetes Mellitus (DM), were followed for at least one-year, and had one or more potentially avoidable complications (PACs) during the most recent 12 months. Please reference attached document labeled NQF_Chronic_Care_PACs_01_24_17.xls, in the tabs labeled PACs I-9 & I-10 for a list of code definitions of PACs relevant to each of the above chronic conditions.

We define PACs as one of two types:
(1) Type 1 PACs - PACs related to the index condition: Patients are considered to have a PAC, if they receive services during the episode time window for any of the complications directly related to the chronic condition, such as for acute exacerbation of the index condition, respiratory insufficiency in patients with Asthma or COPD, hypotension or fluid and electrolyte disturbances in patients with CAD, HF or diabetes etc.
(2) Type 2 PACs - PACs related to Patient Safety or broader System Failures: Patients are also considered to have a PAC, if they receive services during the episode time window for any of the complications related to patient safety or health system failures such as for sepsis, infections, phlebitis, deep vein thrombosis, pressure sores etc.

Date Reviewed: July 21, 2018

Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c)

Percentage of patients 18-75 years of age with diabetes who had hemoglobin A1c > 9.0% during the measurement period.  

Date Reviewed: November 19, 2017

Pain Brought Under Control Within 48 Hours

Patients aged 18 and older who report being uncomfortable because of pain at the initial assessment (after admission to palliative care services) that report pain was brought to a comfortable level within 48 hours.

Date Reviewed: November 19, 2017

30-day, all-cause, risk-standardized mortality rate following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for patients with ST segment elevation MI or cardiogenic shock

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

This measure estimates hospital risk-standardized 30-day all-cause mortality rate following percutaneous coronary intervention among patients who are 18 years of age or older with STEMI or cardiogenic shock at the time of procedure. The measure uses clinical data available in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry CathPCI registry for risk adjustment. For the purpose of development, the measure cohort was derived in a Medicare FFS population of patients 65 years of age or older with a PCI. For the purpose of development and testing, the measure used a Medicare FFS population of patients 65 years of age or older with a PCI. However, the measure is designed to be used in the broader population of PCI patients

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Cardiac Tamponade and/or Pericardiocentesis Following Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

Rate of cardiac tamponade and/or pericardiocentesis following atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital 30-day, all cause, risk-standardized mortality rate following acute MI hospitalization for patients 18 and older

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The measure estimates a hospital 30-day risk-standardized mortality rate. Mortality is defined as death for any cause within 30 days after the date of admission of the index admission, for patients 18 and older discharged from the hospital with a principal diagnosis of acute MI. CMS annually reports the measure for patients who are 65 years or older and are either enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and hospitalized in non-federal hospitals or are hospitalized in VA facilities

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital 30-day, all cause, unplanned, risk-standardized readmission rate following CABG surgery

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The measure estimates a hospital-level risk-standardized readmission rate, defined as unplanned readmission for any cause within 30 days from the date of discharge of the index CABG procedure, for patients 18 years and older discharged from the hospital after undergoing a qualifying isolated CABG procedure. The measure was developed using Medicare FFS patients 65 years and older and was tested in all-payer patients 18 years and older. An index admission is the hospitalization for a qualifying isolated CABG procedure considered for the readmission outcome.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital 30-day, all-cause, risk standardized readmission rate following acute MI hospitalization

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The measure estimates a hospital-level 30-day risk-standardized readmission rate for patients discharged from the hospital with a principal diagnosis of acute MI. The outcome is defined as unplanned readmission for any cause within 30 days of the discharge date for the index admission. A specified set of planned readmissions do not count as readmissions. The target population is patients aged 18 years and older. CMS annually reports the measure for individuals who are 65 years and older and are either Medicare FFS beneficiaries hospitalized in non-federal hospitals or patients hospitalized in Department of VA facilities

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital 30-Day, all-cause, risk standardized readmission rate following heart failure hospitalization

The measure estimates a hospital-level risk-standardized readmission rate (RSRR) for patients discharged from the hospital with a principal diagnosis of heart failure (HF). The outcome is defined as unplanned readmission for any cause within 30 days of the discharge date for the index admission. A specified set of planned readmissions do not count as readmissions. The target population is patients 18 and over. CMS annually reports the measure for patients who are 65 years or older and are either enrolled in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare and hospitalized in non-federal hospitals or are hospitalized in Veterans Health Administration (VA) facilities.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital 30-Day, All-Cause, Risk-Standardized Mortality Rate Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The measure estimates a hospital-level risk-standardized mortality rate for patients 18 years and older discharged from the hospital following a qualifying isolated CABG procedure. Mortality is defined as death from any cause within 30 days of the procedure date of an index CABG admission. The measure was developed using Medicare FFS patients 65 years and older and was tested in all-payer patients 18 years and older. An index admission is the hospitalization for a qualifying isolated CABG procedure considered for the readmission outcome.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital 30-day, all-cause, risk-standardized mortality rate following heart failure hospitalization for patients 18 and older

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The measure estimates a hospital 30-day risk-standardized mortality rate. Mortality is defined as death for any cause within 30 days after the date of admission of the index admission, for patients 18 and older discharged from the hospital with a principal diagnosis of HF. CMS annually reports the measure for patients who are 65 years or older and are either enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and hospitalized in non-federal hospitals or are hospitalized in VA facilities.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Hospital Wide All Cause Readmission Measure

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The measure estimates a hospital-level risk-standardized readmission rate (RSRR) of unplanned, all-cause readmission after admission for any eligible condition within 30 days of hospital discharge. The measure reports a single summary risk-standardized readmission rate (RSRR), derived from the volume-weighted results of five different models, one for each of the following specialty cohorts based on groups of discharge condition categories or procedure categories: surgery/gynecology, general medicine, cardiorespiratory, cardiovascular, and neurology, each of which will be described in greater detail below. The measure also indicates the hospital-level standardized risk ratios (SRR) for each of these five specialty cohorts. The outcome is defined as unplanned readmission for any cause within 30 days of the discharge date for the index admission. Admissions for planned procedures that are not accompanied by an acute diagnosis do not count as readmissions in the measure outcome. The target population is patients 18 and over. CMS annually reports the measure for patients who are 65 years or older and are enrolled in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare and hospitalized in non-federal hospitals.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

In-hospital Risk Adjusted Rate of Bleeding Events for Patients Undergoing PCI

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

Risk adjusted rate of intra and post procedure bleeding for all patients aged 18 and over undergoing PCI

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Risk-Adjusted CABG Readmission Rate

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

Risk adjusted percentage of Medicare FFS beneficiaries aged 65 and older who undergo isolated coronary artery bypass grafting and are discharged alive but have a subsequent acute care hospital inpatient admission within 30 days of the date of discharge from the CABG hospitalization.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Risk-Adjusted Operative Mortality for CABG

Percent of patients aged 18 years and older undergoing isolated CABG who die, including both: 1) all deaths occurring during the hospitalization in which the CABG was performed, even if after 30 days, and 2) those deaths occurring after discharge from the hospital, but within 30 days of the procedure.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Skilled Nursing Facility 30-Day All Cause Readmission

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

This measure estimates the risk-standardized rate of all-cause, unplanned, hospital readmissions for patients who have been admitted to a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) (Medicare fee-for-service [FFS] beneficiaries) within 30 days of discharge from their prior proximal hospitalization. The prior proximal hospitalization is defined as an admission to an IPPS, CAH, or a psychiatric hospital. The measure is based on data for 12 months of SNF admissions.

A risk-adjusted readmission rate for each facility is calculated as follows:

• Step 1: Calculate the standardized risk ratio of the predicted number of readmissions at the facility divided by the expected number of readmissions for the same patients if treated at the average facility. The magnitude of the risk-standardized ratio is the indicator of a facility's effects on readmission rates.
• Step 2: The standardized risk ratio is then multiplied by the mean rate of readmission in the population (i.e., all Medicare FFS patients included in the measure) to generate the facility-level standardized readmission rate.

For this measure, readmissions that are usually for planned procedures are excluded. Please refer to the Appendix, Tables 1 - 5 for a list of planned procedures.

The measure specifications are designed to harmonize with CMS' hospital-wide readmission (HWR) measure to the greatest extent possible. The HWR (NQF #1789) estimates the hospital-level, risk-standardize rate of unplanned, all-cause readmissions within 30 days of a hospital discharge and uses the same 30-day risk window as the SNFRM.

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2015

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Asthma in Older Adults Admission Rate (PQI 05)

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

Admissions with a principal diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma per 100,000 population, ages 40 years and older. Excludes obstetric admissions and transfers from other institutions. (NOTE: The software provides the rate per population. However, common practice reports the measure as per 100,000 population. The user must multiply the rate obtained from the software by 100,000 to report admissions per 100,000 population)

Date Reviewed: July 26, 2015

Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Control (

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

The percentage of members 18-75 years of age with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) whose most recent HbA1c level is <8.0% during the measurement year.

Date Reviewed: April 27, 2015

Adult Kidney Disease: Patients on Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent-Hemoglobin Level > 12.0 g/dL

INACTIVE REVIEW: This measure review is older than five years.

Percentage of calendar months within a 12-month period during which a Hemoglobin is measured for patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of advanced CKD (stage 4 or 5, not receiving RRT) or ESRD (who are on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis) who are also receiving ESA therapy and have a Hemoglobin Level > 12.0 g/dL

Date Reviewed: November 23, 2013