As they do every year, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) released new technical specifications pertaining to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS). These 2019 updates include four new measures, changes to four measures that already existed, and two cross-cutting topics to pertain to enhancements across multiple measures in existence.
New HEDIS Quality Measures
The four new measures released by the NCQA tackle emerging health issues and aim to aid evolving processes in delivering care.
Hospitalization Following Discharge From a Skilled Nursing Facility: This measure examines the percentage of skilled nursing facility discharges that result in the patient being unexpectedly hospitalized within 30 to 60 days of their release.
Risk of Continued Opioid Use: This measure examines the percentage of those 18 years of age or older who have another episode of opioid use that sets them at risk for continued usage of the drug.
Prenatal Immunization Status: This new measure examines the percentage of deliveries at least 37 weeks or later that the birth mother received influenza and diphtheria and Tdap vaccines.
Adult Immunization Status: The last new measure looks at the percent of those 19 years of age or older who are up to date on their recommended vaccinations.
Updates to Existing HEDIS Quality Measures
In addition to the four new measures, the NCQA also made changes to four existing HEDIS measures. Changes were made to the following measures, Controlling High Blood Pressure, Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for Mental Illness, Follow-Up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness, and Plan All-Cause Readmissions.
Cross-Cutting Topics for HEDIS Quality Measures
The NCQA also emphasized two cross-cutting topics. These include Telehealth for Physical Health Measures and Excluding Members With Advanced Illness.
Having trouble staying up to date with your HEDIS Quality Measures? HEDIS Nurses can help!
Let’s face it, staying up to date on the NCQA’s changes can be difficult. From adding entirely new performance measures to making minute changes to existing measures, it can be very frustrating trying to stay accurate and timely. There are likely hundreds of other things on your mind and HEDIS is the last of your worries. Thankfully, HEDIS Nurses is here to help!
Contact HEDIS Nurses Today to Learn More!
If you are looking for assistance with your HEDIS projects, you can always turn to HEDIS Nurses. Not only do we offer assistance with your HEDIS chart abstractions, but we also can handle full outsourcing of your HEDIS tasks. Instead of falling behind and struggling to keep up with the constant nitpicking changes brought forth by the NCQA, let HEDIS Nurses handle all your HEDIS work. We will improve your accuracy and timeliness, ensuring that you are best representing yourself. As a division of Datafied, you can rest assured that our 2024 years of experience in the business is more than enough to get the job done right. Contact us today at (877) 328-2343 to join the HEDIS Nurses team!
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