CMS to Focus on Stroke Care in U.S....(ery stroke patient who presents to the h...),Health

The National Quality Forum, a nonpartisan organization that reviews and endorses measures for use by quality organizations, insurance companies and CMS, has since endorsed eight of the measures and CMS is considering them for future reporting. The measures are:

1. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis by end of hospital day two
2. Discharged on antithrombotic therapy
3. Patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter receiving anticoagulant therapy
4. Thrombolytic therapy administered
5. Antithrombotic therapy by end of hospital day two
6. Discharged on statin medication
7. Stroke education provided
8. Assessed for rehabilitation
   

CMS is also considering including a measure of hospital stroke mortality derived from claims data. CMS's attention to stroke mortality is another indication of a new focus on the importance of addressing the quality of stroke care for the Medicare population.

"So, hospitals really need to start understanding how to collect data on stroke care measures and how to improve on them," Schwamm said.

The American Heart Association has been using these and other measures in its GWTG quality improvement program since 2001. The more than 1,400 U.S. hospitals participating in GWTG-Stroke are one step ahead of the ruling, he said.

Schwamm said the CMS rule also presents an ideal opportunity for hospitals not currently participating in Get With The Guidelines-Stroke. Those hospitals that join the initiative by Jan. 1, 2010 will be able to report to CMS that they are participating in a qualifying registry for stroke care.

"Get With The Guidelines-Stroke also offers unsurpassed benchmarking capabilities with its database of mo
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