Consensus toward a matrix of clinical quality measures and public health targets for Colorado

In May of 2011, health and health care stakeholders in Colorado began meeting to address this problem: with so many clinical quality measures in existence—and more being developed—how to best organize measures: l) in a way that is reasonable for the intended users; 2) move towards consistency of data comparison; and 3) make the greatest impact on the health of all throughout Colorado. Potential audiences for the measures included: clinicians, foundations, advocacy groups, health exchanges, and those involved in population-focused work. Early on, the group asked: Is it possible to tier the practice-level, clinical measures with population-focused public health goals? The Advisory Group worked hard to find a format that was useful to the target audiences and at the same time easy to maintain. It was agreed that measures should have available qualities and benchmarks and be evidence-based. Meaningful Use measure definitions were chosen as the anchor. Public health targets were not only included, but will serve as targets for individual, private practice work. Meeting facilitation was key to this process with HealthTeamWorks, a Colorado-based non-profit organization responsible for meeting logistics and for providing experience from previous work in distilling clinical guidelines on chronic disease and prevention areas. All were welcome at the table. All voices were heard. Consensus on the measures was achieved on February 1, 2012 and the product scheduled for dissemination by all stakeholders who will serve as Champions of this work.