January 12, 2012   The Department of Health and Human Services has released the first quality measures for the Medicaid program, which include medical assistance with smoking and tobacco use cessation. The initial 26 measures were released in final form in a notice published January 4 in the Federal Register. Reporting will be voluntary and is not schedule to begin until December 2013. (See measures, below.) “Identification of the initial core set of measures for Medicaid-eligible adults is an important first step in an overall strategy to encourage and enhance quality improvement,” HHS wrote in the notice. “States that choose to collect the initial core set will be better positioned to measure their performance and develop action plans to achieve the three part aims of better care, healthier people, and affordable care as identified in HHS’ National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care.”

For More Information:
http://journal.ahima.org/2012/01/09/medicaid-receives-first-quality-measures/