CMS Measures Management Special Project

HSAG contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)—specifically the Quality Measurement and Health Assessment Group (QMHAG) within CMS’ Office of Clinical Standards and Quality—to implement the CMS Measures Management Special Project. CMS launched the Special Project in October 2003 to implement a more standardized and efficient management system for the development and maintenance of quality measures. This is known as the CMS Measures Management System and is documented in the "Blueprint." QMHAG initiated the CMS Measures Management Special Project because of increasing demand from a wide variety of stakeholders for valid, reliable quality measures that can determine whether high-quality care is being provided consistently across the health care delivery system. While quality measurement is a critical tool for improving quality and supplying information to consumers and purchasers in a market-driven health system, the field is still evolving and growing rapidly. The CMS Measures Management Special Project is expected to assist QMHAG in meeting a diversity of policy and program needs.

CMS Measures Management System Blueprint ("Blueprint") v 8.0,
August 2011

The Blueprint v 8.0 provides guidance to CMS-contracted measure developers on the development and maintenance of measures. Based on user feedback and the evolution of quality measurement methodology, v 8.0 of the Blueprint is divided into two volumes. Each volume has sections that represent tasks that may apply to more than one of the stages in the measure life cycle. This structure allows for flexibility, in that measure contractors can focus on sections most relevant to the tasks in their contract.

• Volume 1, Measure Development—documents the various processes necessary to plan, develop, test, and roll out a measure.
• Volume 2, Measure Maintenance—documents the processes for monitoring and maintaining a measure over time.

v 8.0 of the Blueprint was released in August 2011 and is available at: https://www.cms.gov/MMS/19_MeasuresManagementSystemBlueprint.asp

In addition to the development of the Blueprint, the CMS Measures Management Special Project supports QMHAG by conducting the following tasks:

• Providing support in developing long-range plans for measure development, endorsement, and maintenance activities by conducting measure gap analyses and focused environmental scans. Specific tools to assist QMHAG in prioritizing measure activities include, but are not limited to:
  • The CMS Measure Inventory that includes all current and identified future CMS measures.
  • The Master Planning Calendar and work plans that include key dates for measure development, implementation, and maintenance activities.
  • A monthly scan of 10 major medical journals to search for articles about the quality measures used in various CMS programs.
• Providing support and analysis for measure harmonization and simplification.
• Providing support for implementation of various Affordable Care Act (ACA) programs with regard to measure selection.
• Monitoring and participating in innovative issues in quality measurement, such as the development of quality measures from electronic health records.
• Providing technical assistance to CMS measure development contractors regarding the MMS Blueprint.
• Collaborating with the National Quality Forum, the American Medical Association (AMA)-Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, The Joint Commission, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other major measure developers in developing quality measurement policies and methodology.
• Providing educational sessions to QMHAG staff and management regarding the Measures Management System Blueprint and new developments in the quality measure environment.

<TOP>