The Joint Commission last week recognized Memorial Hermann Health System as a 2017 Pioneers in Quality™ Expert Contributor for its contributions to electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for quality improvement in health care.
Until recently, most hospitals collected information to measure health care quality by manually abstracting data from patient records. Today, through eCQMs—which rely on structured, encoded data present in the electronic health record—hospitals can electronically collect and transmit data on the quality of care that patients receive. The electronic data can then be analyzed to measure and improve care processes, performance and outcomes.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by The Joint Commission for our System’s adoption of electronic clinical quality measures,” said Angela A. Shippy, M.D., senior vice president and chief quality officer at Memorial Hermann. “eCQMs have been an invaluable asset in our ongoing journey to operate as a High Reliability Organization. The capability to easily gather and analyze patient data through eCQMs is crucial to continuously improving quality of care and outcomes for all patients.”
The Joint Commission, the United States’ leading accreditor of health care organizations, established the Pioneers in Quality™ program to assist and recognize hospitals that report eCQM data, as well as share best practices for all hospitals in gathering, analyzing and leveraging eCQM data for quality improvement.
Of more than 3,200 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals that reported 2016 data, only 480 have been named 2017 Pioneers in Quality™ hospitals by meeting criteria in one or more of the following categories:
“We commend Memorial Hermann as a 2017 Pioneers in Quality™ organization for its contributions and commitment to electronic clinical quality measure data and practice toward quality improvement,” said David W. Baker, MD, MPH, FACP, executive vice president, Division of Health Care Quality Evaluation, The Joint Commission. “Out of 3,200 health care organizations, Memorial Hermann is among only 480 that The Joint Commission has recognized this year for embracing new technology to submit data about the care it provides to patients. That work to voluntarily share information helps the entire industry move forward in utilizing electronic clinical quality measurement for health care improvement.”
Pioneers in Quality™ recognition is not an indicator or measure of data quality or quality of care, but an indicator of an organization’s commitment to adopting eCQMs toward quality improvement. It recognizes eCQM data reporting and other contributions that advance eCQM adoption in health care.