AHA, others voice support for core metrics approach in Health Affairs Blog

The National Academy of Medicine’s “Vital Signs” report offers “a promising roadmap for developing a more rational measurement system,” Rich Umbdenstock, AHA past president and CEO, says in a Health Affairs Blog post contributed to by five health care leaders whose organizations support the report’s findings. The April 2015 report identifies 15 core measures for assessing the nation’s health. “It is terrific work that comes at a critical time, and we should work together to start using it – today,” Umbdenstock says. “Hospitals have had extensive experience with measures and experience directly the burden created by continuous proliferation, particularly through the creation of slight variations of similar measures tailored to the needs of different payers or groups… We’ve seen benefits of standardized, focused measures, most recently in the Hospital Engagement Network undertaken across the country. This work shows what can happen when we’re on the same page with a broad range of stakeholder groups, and demonstrates the transformative potential of the core metrics approach.”