The National Quality Forum (NQF) https://www.qualityforum.org has released a report outlining 37 measures of health to address the specific needs of communities in rural areas.
The report “2022 Key Rural measures: An Updated List of measures to Advance Rural Health Priorities,” builds on the work of the NQF Rural Health Advisory Group first developed in 2017-2018.
In addition to updating the key rural measures list, the Advisory Group also looked at remaining gaps in measurement topic areas. The report identifies gaps that include intentional and unintentional injury, COVID-19, HIV, telehealth relevant measures, cancer screening measures, and cost.
The report is designed to be used by healthcare providers in rural settings as a guide for selecting measures that are most relevant to the local population, and feasible to implement.
“Rural populations are experiencing persistent disparities in health outcomes, and the COVID-19 pandemic has put these in stark relief,” said Dana Gelb Safran, SCD, President & CEO NQF. “It is imperative that we address the issues that are unique or particularly extreme for rural communities”.
The Advisory Group’s review emphasized behavioral and mental health, substance use, infectious disease, access to care, and equity and social determinants of health. The final list also addresses admissions, readmissions, and hospital visits, care coordination, dementia, diabetes, hypertension, kidney health, maternal health mortality, patient experience, preventative care, and patient safety.
The project is being funded by CMS as part of the agency’s ongoing strategic focus on rural health. For the NQF report, go to https://www.qualtiyforum.org.