GAO calls for better alignment of quality measures

Editor's Note

In an October 13 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) called for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set priorities in its effort to better align healthcare quality measures across payers and programs, and to make them truly meaningful, according to the October 14 FierceHealthcare.

The GAO recommends that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) develop a comprehensive plan for more meaningful measures that promote better alignment.

The GAO also asked CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information technology to prioritize development of electronic measures and standardized data elements to report on those measures.

The Department of Health and Human Services must set priorities in its bid to better align healthcare quality measures across payers and programs, and work to make those metrics truly meaningful, according to a report published Oct. 13 by the Government Accountability Office.