Measuring the quality of care has a direct impact on patient safety. When we know what is or is not working, we can make strategic and targeted changes to improve patient care. Quality measures also open the door for healthcare facilities to learn from one another.

Inpatient settings have been testing and refining quality measures for years. The measures are used internally to improve processes and outcomes and are used externally to help patients make informed decisions.

A new article from Modern Healthcare notes that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has far fewer required quality measures for outpatient settings than for inpatient settings. This makes it difficult for patients to make informed decisions and for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to demonstrate the quality of care they provide. The article describes various efforts being made by ASC groups around the country to develop their own quality measures. One such effort is the ASC Quality Collaborative, formed in 2006 to advance quality measurement and public reporting of data among ASCs. The Quality Collaborative has developed standardized quality measures for ASCs. They also produce a Quality Report with aggregate data on each of the measures from participating ASCS.

What You Can Do

Until ASCs have a standardized set of quality measures and a consistent reporting structure, some ASCs are choosing to implement the ASC Quality Collaborative’s quality measures. Your ASC can also use this data-driven approach to proactively measure quality, guide your internal quality improvement efforts, and network with the larger Quality Collaborative on ways things can be done better.

The ASC Quality Collaborative believes that by adopting their quality measures, ASCs will:

• Collect information that will help strengthen their facility’s performance and enhance the overall picture of ASC performance and outcomes

• Encourage others in the industry to adopt the quality measures

• Ensure that larger systems are in place to collect data and produce effective reporting

What You’ll Need

ASC Quality Collaborative Quality Measures and Guide
The ASC Quality Collaborative has developed and tested both outcome and process quality measures covering 11 areas. The measures and resources for implementation are available in the Collaborative’s Measure Summary and Implementation Guide.