United Hospital Fund of New York

The quality measurement field has failed to make the health care system more responsive and attuned to what matters to consumers, despite an overwhelming number of quality measures that currently exists.

In 2016, New York State released a report that found a large disconnect between the clinical measures emphasized by traditional quality measurement practices and the quality measures that consumers sought to inform their health care decisions. There is a growing push to both streamline measures and bring them closer to what patients care about and can understand. As the State reassessed its health care information collection and undertakes a number of other health care initiatives, there were timely opportunities to refine quality measurement so as to better empower the State’s consumers. In 2016, NYHealth awarded United Hospital Fund of New York (UHF) a grant to help inform quality measurement reforms in New York State that better meet the needs and interests of patients and their families.

Under this grant, UHF scanned, developed criteria for, and assessed capacity of New York State’s current and planned quality measures and reporting programs. Specifically, UHF examined the quality information that was currently available for selected groups of consumers and what would be available in the near future. Additionally, UHF developed a set of criteria to describe and classify each quality measure, as well as identify effective formats and communication strategies for consumers. UHF used its finding to determine the degree to which measures and reporting programs addressed consumers’ health concerns and needs. It also identified promising approaches that could be tested or implemented in New York. Based on these analyses, UHF produced two reports with major findings and recommendations on current quality measures and reporting efforts and for moving the health care measurement enterprise in New York toward a more consumer-centric focus. In addition, UHF and NYHealth hosted a statewide meeting for health care consumers and advocates, providers, payers, and policymakers to review and discuss the findings and recommendations of the project.

Read the report, “Empowering New Yorkers with Quality Measures that Matter to Them.”