The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Workforce
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Quality Advice from Specialty Societies

Quality Advice from Specialty Societies

December 1, 2008 • By Vanessa Caceres

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

ARLINGTON, VA.—The ACR held its third annual Quality Stakeholders’ Summit in September to get an update on how different groups within healthcare are addressing quality improvement and the national quality movement. The summit included presentations from six medical societies, as well as from vendors and insurers. Some of the invited societies have organizational experience developing measures, while others are now working with members to implement data collection and reporting.

You Might Also Like
  • What Rheumatologists Need to Know about Modifications to the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2014
  • Measuring Quality of Care Is Here to Stay—and the ACR Can Help
  • Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) Changes for 2008
Explore This Issue
December 2008
Also By This Author
  • ACR Launches First Public Relations Campaign

Most medical specialty societies—including the ACR—are actively dealing with these issues on behalf of their members, and “this is our first effort to begin to cross-pollinate with each other,” says Stanley Cohen, MD, clinical professor of rheumatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and president-elect of the ACR.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“Physician specialty societies are the natural home for developing [quality] guidelines,” says Timothy Ferris, MD, MPH, medical director of Massachusetts General Physicians Organization at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The ACR agrees, taking the position that rheumatologists should define what true quality care for rheumatic disease patients looks like rather than having it defined for them by those outside the subspecialty.

“Although some rheumatologists are hesitant about the adoption of new quality measures, it serves the specialty well to pay attention to them,” says Daniel Solomon, MD, MPH. Dr. Solomon is associate professor of medicine and chief of clinical research in rheumatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, chair of the ACR’s Committee on Quality of Care, and a member of The Rheumatologist’s editorial board.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“Because of measure gaps in the quality of care, there is a real need to measure performance. While there are some rheumatologists who have already accepted this, others are more reluctant,” says Dr. Solomon.

CMS is not the only organization to track quality and outcomes via its pay-for-performance program (P4P) and the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, which allowed physicians to choose from approximately 120 quality measures in 2008. Some insurers are using physician performance “report cards,” and some hospitals are undertaking large-scale efforts with their physicians to measure outcomes. Groups such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance, which had a presence at the summit, work with physicians who want to proactively show their superior care through performance measurement with the use of evidenced-based standards.

The Institute of Medicine’s reports, “To Err Is Human”1 and “Crossing the Quality Chasm,”2 turned the public’s eye on quality indicators, notes Dr. Ferris.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Physician specialty societies are the natural home for developing [quality] guidelines.

— Timothy Ferris, MD, MPH

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: From the College, Practice Management, Professional Topics Tagged With: AC&R, Care, Quality Initiatives, Quality Measures, Quality Stakeholders’ Summit, ResearchIssue: December 2008

You Might Also Like:
  • What Rheumatologists Need to Know about Modifications to the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2014
  • Measuring Quality of Care Is Here to Stay—and the ACR Can Help
  • Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) Changes for 2008
  • Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness Registry Can Help Physicians Improve Practice Performance

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.