Sec. 3011 National Strategy
- Overview. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must formulate a “National Strategy for Quality in Health Care” to “improve the delivery of health care services, patient health outcomes, and population health.”196
- National Priorities. The Secretary must identify national priorities that will (1) improve outcomes and efficiency; (2) “identify areas in the delivery of health care services that have the potential for rapid improvement in the quality and efficiency of patient care;” (3) address information gaps pertaining to “quality, efficiency, and comparative effectiveness” as well as gaps in “health outcome measures and data aggregation techniques;” (4) emphasize quality and efficiency through Federal payment policy; (5) “enhance the use of health care data to improve quality, efficiency, transparency, and outcomes;” (6) address the care of patients with costly chronic diseases; (7) improve patient safety and readmissions through better research and dissemination; (8) address health disparities; and (9) take other actions as specified by the Secretary.197
- National Strategy. The Secretary will subsequently develop a strategic plan to address the priorities.198 At minimum, the plan must provide for coordination of agency action, agency specific plans, benchmarks for success, reporting requirements, and must “incorporat[e] quality improvement and measurement in the strategic plan for health information technology required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.”199
- Website. The Secretary must establish a “Health Care Quality Internet Website” by January 1, 2011 that provides information regarding the national priorities for quality improvement and the agency plans for quality improvement for public consumption.200 The Secretary has discretion to require additional information that they deem “appropriate.”201
Sec. 3012 Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality
The President must convene an “Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality” for the purpose of developing and implementing the National Quality Strategy, streamlining quality reporting and compliance requirements so as to avoid inefficient duplication of actions, and to evaluate alignment of public and private quality initiatives.202 Senior level representatives of numerous federal agencies, including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, will comprise the working group’s membership with the HHS representative as chair.203 The working group must submit, and make public, an annual report to Congress beginning no later than December 31, 2010.204
Sec. 3013 Quality Measure Development
- Measure Identification. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must consult with the directors of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify gaps in quality measure development. This consultation must occur at least three times a year and the National Strategy should guide its focus. The Secretary must also consider gaps identified by the National Quality Forum, the Pediatric Quality Measures Program, and the Medicaid Quality Measurement Program.205
- Grants. The Secretary must award grants and contracts for the development of quality measures.206 The Secretary must give priority to measures that allow assessment of: (1) patient outcomes; (2) care management and coordination; (3) “the experience, quality, and use of information” by individuals making care decisions; (4) “the meaningful use of health information technology;” (5) “the safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, appropriateness, and timeliness of care;” (6) “the efficiency of care;” (7) health equity and health disparities; (8) “patient experience and satisfaction;” (9) the National Strategy for Quality in Health Care; and (9) other areas as specified by the Secretary.207
- Grantees. Entities that have experience with developing measures, consider the views of various stakeholders while developing measures, can collaborate with the National Quality Forum, and maintain transparent policies are eligible for grants.208 Entities that receive grants must use the funds to develop measures for use in Medicare and Medicaid quality programs, support quality measure programs run through Medicare and Medicaid that allow for data collection through health information technology, that are free for users, and that are publically available on the internet.209
Sec. 3015 Data Collection; Public Reporting
- Strategic Framework. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must establish a strategic framework for reporting performance information to the public.210
- Data Collection and Aggregation. The Secretary must “collect and aggregate consistent data on quality and resource use measures from information systems used to support health care delivery.”211 The Secretary must align these efforts with requirements and standards regarding the expansion and interoperability of health information technology systems.212
- Data Collection Grants. The Secretary may award grants to support data collection activities.
- Entities are eligible for grants if they: (1) are “multi-stakeholder entities specializing in development of quality and cost reporting methods,” capable of population or provider specific reporting, or are an IHS or Indian Tribe program (2) promote the use of data systems in care coordination and improvement efforts; (3) support the appropriate exchange of quality and resource use information to health care providers and other organizations; and (4) support the ability of providers to correct errors in measurements, and agree to publically report quality and resource use measures.213 Grantees must also agree to match every $5 dollars of federal funding with $1 of non-federal funding.214
The Secretary should provide, as feasible, provider specific information on specific conditions so as to meet the needs of consumers.216 The National Quality Forum (NQF) will convene interested stakeholders in order to assess their views on the development of these reporting websites. The NQF will pass on these views to the Secretary and act as a consultant during the development process.217 Congress grants the Secretary the authority to coordinate the data collection and reporting established in Section 3015 with the public reporting requirements for quality measures under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act [See Medicare section for more information on these reporting requirements].218
Footnotes
- 196. Affordable Care Act §3011; 42 U.S.C. 280j(a).
- 197. Affordable Care Act §3011; 42 U.S.C. 280j(a)(2)(B)(i)-(ix).
- 198. Affordable Care Act § 3011; 42 U.S.C. 280j(b)(1).
- 199. Affordable Care Act §3011; 42 U.S.C.S. 280j(b)(2)(A)-(F).
- 200. Affordable Care Act §3011; 42 U.S.C. 280j(e)(1)-(2).
- 201. Affordable Care Act §3011; 42 U.S.C. 280j(e)(3).
- 202. Affordable Care Act §3012(b)(1)-(3).
- 203. Affordable Care Act §3012(b)(1)-(2).
- 204. Affordable Care Act §3012(d).
- 205. Affordable Care Act §3013(a)(4); 42 U.S.C. 299b-31(b)(1)(A)-(C).
- 206. Affordable Care Act §3013(a)(4); 42 U.S.C. 299b-31(c)(1).
- 207. Affordable Care Act §3013(a)(4); 42 U.S.C. 299b-31(c)(2)(A)-(J).
- 208. Affordable Care Act §3013(a)(4); 42 U.S.C. 299b-31(c)(3)(A)-(D).
- 209. Affordable Care Act §3013(a)(4); 42 U.S.C. 299b-31(c)(4)(A)-(E).
- 210. Affordable Care Act §3015; 42 U.S.C. 280-1(a)(1).
- 211. Affordable Care Act §3015; 42 U.S.C. 280-1(a)(2).
- 212. Affordable Care Act §3015; 42 U.S.C. 280-1(a)(2).
- 213. Affordable Care Act §3015; 42 U.S.C. 280-1(b)(2)(A).
- 214. Affordable Care Act §3015; 42 U.S.C. 280-1(d).
- 215. Affordable Care Act §3015; 42 U.S.C. 280-1(c).
- 216. Affordable Care Act §3015: 42 U.S.C. 280j-2(a)-(b).
- 217. Affordable Care Act §3015: 42 U.S.C. 280j-2(c).
- 218. Affordable Care Act §3015: 42 U.S.C. 280j-2(d).
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