NQF Endorses Measures to Address Care Coordination and Efficiency in Hospital Emergency D...(in theemergency department. Suzanne S...),Health

Suzanne Stone-Griffin, RN, MSN, assistant vice president of clinical services at the Hospital Corporation of America, and John Moorhead, MD professor of emergency medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University, co-chaired NQF's steering committee on hospital-based emergency department care.

"The measures developed through NQF's consensus process reflect a commitment to advancing safety, quality, access, efficiency and affordability in our emergency departments," said Stone-Griffin. "These measures will help drive safe, high-quality and efficient care and serve as levers to overcome the challenges of emergency department overcrowding."

The endorsement of these measures is phase two of a project to increase public accountability and quality improvement related to emergency care at both the facility and practitioner levels. In November 2007, NQF endorsed 12 national voluntary consensus standards to measure emergency department communication and acute myocardial infarction care as it relates to emergency department transfers.

How to Appeal

NQF is a voluntary consensus standards-setting organization. Any party may request reconsideration of the recommendations, in whole or in part, by notifying NQF in writing via email no later than November 28 (appeals@qualityforum.org). For an appeal to be considered, the notification email must include information clearly demonstrating that the appellant has interests that are directly and materially affected by the NQF-endorsed recommendations and that the NQF decision has had (or will have) an adverse effect on those interests.

Funding

This work was conducted under a contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

MEASURES ENDORSED BY NQF

Please visit our website at http://www.qualityforum.org to read the full specifications for all of the new NQF-endorsed voluntary con
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