The National Quality Forum (NQF) is seeking public comments until Monday, Nov. 23 on 23 cardiovascular measures. Eight of the 23 measures were submitted by the ACC. Of these, three were submitted solely by the ACC, and five were co-developed by the ACC/American Heart Association (AHA) Task Force on Performance Measures and the American Medical Association Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (AMA PCPI).

The public comment period provides an opportunity for members of the cardiovascular community and other stakeholders to play an active role in the development of performance measures that could have a direct impact on hospitals and physician practices. The ACC, solely and through work with other organizations, including the AHA and the AMA PCPI, has committed significant resources over the years to both developing and testing cardiovascular measures.

The eight measures submitted or co-submitted by the ACC include:

Measures proposed for re-endorsement:

1. NQF 0067: Chronic Stable Coronary Artery Disease (CAD): Antiplatelet Therapy (ACC/AHA/AMA PCPI)
2. NQF 0079: Heart Failure (HF): Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) Assessment (Outpatient Setting) (ACC/AHA/AMA PCPI)
3. NQF 0070: CAD: Beta-Blocker Therapy—Prior Myocardial Infarction or Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVEF <40%) (ACC/AHA/AMA PCPI). The registry version of this measure is proposed for re-endorsement
4. NQF 0081: HF: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor (ACE-I) or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) Therapy for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD) (ACC/AHA/AMA PCPI) The registry and electronic specifications for this measure are proposed for re-endorsement
5. NQF 0083: HF: Beta-Blocker Therapy LVSD (ACC/AHA/AMA PCPI) The registry and electronic specifications for this measure are proposed for re-endorsement
6. NQF 0694: Hospital Risk-Standardized Complication Rate following Implantation of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) (ACC)
7. NQF 0965: Patients With an ICD Implant Who Receive ACE-I/ARB and Beta Blocker Therapy at Discharge (ACC)

New measure proposed for endorsement:

8. NQF 2396: Evaluation of Vital Status and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale at Follow-Up (ACC)

Following the comment period, the NQF cardiovascular committee will review the comments and make their final recommendations to the NQF Board. Official endorsement from NQF would better ensure that these eight measures would be included in key national public reporting and payment programs. While this process is lengthy, your support and comments are critical to ensuring ACC’s continued success at NQF. To this end, we encourage you to submit comments via the NQF website by Monday, Nov. 23. In order to comment on the measures, you must have an NQF log in. If you do not have one, you can set one up here.

Should you have any questions, please email comment@acc.org and reference the specific measure related to your questions.

Keywords: Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillators, Implantable, Electronic Mail, Heart Failure, Myocardial Infarction, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled, Registries, Stroke, Stroke Volume

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