Nonprofit publishes first quality report as part of CMS' QEC program

CMS and the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation announced the publication of the first public report of provider performance using data from the CMS’ Qualified Entity Certification Program. The Oregon nonprofit, Q Corp, is one of 13 qualified entities certified by CMS.

The “announcement is the latest of several efforts that demonstrate this Administration’s commitment to making health care performance and cost more transparent,” Niall Brennan, acting director of the CMS Offices for Enterprise Management, wrote on the CMS blog.

The report, published on Q Corp’s Partner for Quality Care website, focuses on how well primary care clinics and physicians’ offices perform in areas like preventive care and chronic disease, as well as the appropriate use of services, according to a Q Corp press release. As a qualified entity, Q Corp has access to Medicaid fee-for-service claims data submitted by clinics in Oregon. The current report utilizes these data in the following areas:

Heart disease, as assessed by cholesterol testing
Women’s health, as assessed by mammograms
Diabetes care, as assessed by glucose and cholesterol testing

Only data from clinics with at least 3 primary care providers and at least 30 patients were included in the report.

In addition to CMS data, the Q Corp report includes data contributed by 12 Oregon health insurance providers and the Oregon Health Authority’s Division of Medical Assistance programs.

“Our organization is dedicated to improving the quality and affordability of health care in Oregon by leading community collaborations and producing unbiased information,” Bylia Christensen, executive director of Q Corp, said in a press release. “We are delighted that the CMS has joined our longstanding collaborative efforts so that we can now provide information on the care received by over 2.6 million Oregonians.”