DMAA Announces Launch of Project to Develop Standards WASHINGTON, DC—The Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) today announced the launch of an ambitious project to develop by year's end a uniform method for measuring and evaluating outcomes in disease and care management programs. "This certainly stands among the disease management community's most significant research efforts to date," said Don Fetterolf, MD, chair of the DMAA Quality and Research Committee. "Reaching consensus on a relevant and scientifically valid standard for evaluating clinical and financial outcomes is vital to the continued strong growth of disease and care management." Dr. Fetterolf will lead the DMAA Outcomes Steering Committee's stewardship of the standards development project. The committee expects to present a final, uniform evaluation methodology during the DMAA's 2006 Disease Management Leadership Forum, Dec. 3 to 5, in Denver. Underscoring the importance of this effort is agreement among the companies and individuals involved to support the final methodology and to put on hold independent standards development projects already underway. "Our members clearly understand the potential of this project to greatly expand acceptance of disease management by all payers, public and private," said Dr. Fetterolf, Corporate Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, for Matria Healthcare Inc. Initial work on the project will involve a survey of the disease management community to collect data on how disease management organizations and others now measure outcomes. The steering committee established sound criteria for a survey instrument, using a process that examined questions of scope, statistical and actuarial considerations, collection methods and other issues. "The DMAA recognized that a gap exists in our understanding of best practices for evaluating disease and care management programs," DMAA Executive Director Tracey Moorhead said. "Our experience shows disease management works, but lack of agreement on how to measure that success has hampered our ability to convince skeptics. Through the leadership of the DMAA and its members, we will develop the tools we need to erase any doubt that disease management benefits patients and payers alike." The DMAA will reach out to a broad coalition of public and private quality and standards-setting entities to enlist their assistance and support as the project moves forward. Relationships already established include those with URAC, the National Association of Manufacturers and third-party evaluators and researchers. The Disease Management Association of America is a non-profit, voluntary membership association representing all stakeholders in the disease management industry through public and private advocacy targeting the health care industry, government agencies, employers and the general public in an effort to educate them on the important role disease management and care coordination programs play in improving healthcare quality and outcomes for persons with chronic conditions. # # # |
