The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released a draft USCDI+ Quality data element list for public comment. The USCDI+ initiative aims to expand the existing USCDI standard and establish harmonized data elements for quality measurement use cases. ONC, in collaboration with CMS, intends to use these data elements to transition from electronic clinical quality measure reporting to FHIR-based quality reporting. Feedback on the draft list is requested until June 30, 2023.
The USCDI+ initiative is designed to enhance the ONC USCDI standard and support various quality measurement use cases across federal agencies. Recently, ONC released the draft USCDI+ Quality data element list and invited the public to provide feedback.
USCDI+ Quality aims to expand the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) standard by establishing standardized data elements that can be used in CMS and other quality measurement scenarios.
In a blog post on HealthITBuzz, ONC officials stated that once the USCDI+ Quality data element list reaches maturity, it can guide the development of technical specifications and implementation guidance. This will enable more flexible, modernized, and robust approaches to data standardization and sharing.
ONC is collaborating with CMS to ensure that USCDI+ Quality aligns with CMS’s objective of transitioning from electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) reporting to Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based quality reporting, which utilizes digital quality measures (dQMs). The dQM initiative seeks to make quality measurement more meaningful for healthcare providers while reducing administrative burdens.
The draft USCDI+ Quality data element list specifically includes the necessary data to represent eCQMs used in CMS’s Inpatient Quality Reporting program and Quality Payment Program in FHIR. It also provides a detailed mapping between the draft USCDI+ Quality and these quality measures.
ONC officials emphasized that the ultimate goal is to utilize these data elements to update the clinical quality measurement certification criteria in the ONC Health IT Certification Program and develop implementation guides that facilitate reporting to CMS programs.
While the existing CMS quality reporting programs serve as a foundation for USCDI+ Quality, the USCDI+ Quality Domain represents a broader effort to support the collection and harmonization of quality measure data elements across the extended quality community. This includes specialty registries, payers, quality improvement organizations, and quality improvement models.
The USCDI+ Quality data element list also incorporates data elements from various Health Level Seven International FHIR Implementation Guides (IG) that cater to use cases in long-term and post-acute care, oncology, and federally qualified health center (FQHC) reporting requirements.
To develop the draft data element list for USCDI+ Quality, ONC engaged in discussions with organizations in the public and private sectors involved in measure development, evaluation, and quality reporting. These collaborations helped identify high-priority data elements for inclusion.
ONC is actively seeking feedback on the draft list until 11:59 PM ET on June 30, 2023.
