Joint Commission Calls for Performance Data Strategy

The Joint Commission (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) published a policy white paper, “Development of a National Performance Measurement Data Strategy,” that proposes a framework to support performance measurement activities that improve the quality of American healthcare.

The detailed solutions, proposed by a special Joint Commission expert roundtable, focus on creating a data infrastructure that addresses consumer expectations for data privacy, supporting a data highway that allows for data sharing and linkages, and operating under an agreed-upon set of rules and governance structure.

The Joint Commission identifies three broad strategies to guide national performance measurement efforts:

• Standardizing measure definitions and data collection

• Build a data highway to support the exchange of health information

• Engage stakeholders and engender trust by addressing concern over the privacy of personal health information.

A complete copy of the Joint Commission white paper, “Health Care at the Crossroads: Development of a National Performance Measurement Data Strategy,” is available at Performance Data Strategy | Joint Commission.