NQF Endorses Child Health Outcome Measures

Measures assess results of overall care for children

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed outcome measures to assess the results and thereby improve the quality of care provided to children.  The 15 endorsed child health measures address general health assessments and specific procedures and conditions such as neonatal surgery and asthma. The endorsed measures provide important data on the outcomes, or results of care provided to children, and are an important addition to the existing portfolio of performance measures to assess and improve care in these areas.

The 15 endorsed measures for child healthcare address the overall health and care for children under the age of 18. The measures focus on the results of care—such as admission rates and mortality rates—for conditions like asthma and gastroenteritis. Measures also assess mortality rates and adverse events for procedures like non-cardiac surgery and cardiac catheterization.  Additional measures address population health outcomes, including the number of school days missed due to illness and the number of children who have inadequate insurance to achieve optimal health. (A full list of endorsed child health outcome measures follows.)

The Child Health Outcomes Steering Committee was co-chaired by Charles Homer, MD, president and CEO at the National Initiative for Children's Health Care Quality, and Marina Weiss, PhD, senior vice president for public policy and government affairs at the March of Dimes.

"These endorsed child health measures are an important step forward in improving the quality of healthcare for children," said Dr. Weiss. "The measures are particularly impactful because they address both the outcomes of care for specific procedures such as neonate surgery and the general health of children.  Monitoring and improving the overall health of children and the quality of care we provide for them is of paramount importance for the future health of our nation."

NQF is a voluntary consensus standards-setting organization. Any party may request reconsideration of the endorsement recommendations, in whole or in part, by notifying NQF in writing via our web-based form no later than February 24th. For an appeal to be considered, the notification must include information clearly demonstrating that the appellant has interests that are directly and materially affected by the NQF-endorsed recommendations and that the NQF decision has had (or will have) an adverse effect on those interests.

Endorsed Measures

Child Health Outcome Measures

• Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt malfunction rate in children (Children's Hospital Boston)
• Standardized mortality ratio for neonates undergoing non-cardiac surgery (Children's Hospital Boston)
• Standardized adverse event ratio for children <18 years of age undergoing cardiac catheterization (Children's Hospital Boston)
• Healthy term newborn (California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative)
• Number of school days children miss due to illness (Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative [CAHMI])
• Children who have problems obtaining referrals when needed (CAHMI)
• (a) Children who did not receive sufficient care coordination services when needed (b) Children who did not receive satisfactory communication among providers when needed (CAHMI)
• Children who live in communities perceived as safe (CAHMI)
• Children who attend schools perceived as safe (CAHMI)
• Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) (Massachusetts General Hospital )
• Children who have inadequate insurance coverage for optimal health (CAHMI)
• Measure of medical home for children and adolescents (CAHMI)
• Validated family-centered survey questionnaire for parents' and patients' experiences during inpatient pediatric hospital stay(Children's Hospital Boston)
• Gastroenteritis admission rate (pediatric) (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality [AHRQ])
• Asthma admission rate (pediatric)(Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality [AHRQ])

The National Quality Forum (NQF) operates under a three-part mission to improve the quality of American healthcare by:

• Building consensus on national priorities and goals for performance improvement and working in partnership to achieve them;
• Endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance; and
• Promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.

For more information about NQF, visit www.qualityforum.org.

SOURCE National Quality Forum