DMAA Advances Outcomes Project with AHRQ-Joint Commission RoundtableWASHINGTON, DC—The Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) next month will convene purchasers and other key stakeholders—including the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)—for a roundtable discussion on consensus guidelines for measuring disease management outcomes. The Sept. 11 roundtable, co-hosted by DMAA, AHRQ and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, will mark a significant step toward final outcomes measurement guidelines, which DMAA plans to unveil at its Dec. 3 to 5 Disease Management Leadership Forum, in Denver. The roundtable, at AHRQ headquarters, in Rockville, Md., will focus on building consensus around areas of divergence in measurement methodologies identified through a comprehensive survey of disease management organizations, which DMAA conducted earlier this year as part of the outcomes project it launched in January. The roundtable will include key purchaser and payer stakeholders, including employers, health plans, benefits consultants and other recognized experts in evaluating disease management programs. Points of discussion at the roundtable will include how to increase confidence in evaluation methodologies; barriers to greater standardization in outcomes measurement; the contribution research and accreditation can make to the credibility of measures; and approaches to promoting standardized program evaluation. "We've learned much about the varied approaches to evaluating clinical and financial outcomes, and found an encouraging degree of consensus through our survey," DMAA Executive Director Tracey Moorhead said. "Now, as we move toward the final stages of our project, we have turned to the real challenge: reconciling differences to craft guidelines all stakeholders can support." DMAA enlisted the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to analyze and present for review a rich body of data from the outcomes survey. An internal process, including an intensive review of the NORC analysis by multiple work groups of the DMAA Outcomes Steering Committee, leads up to the roundtable and final consideration by the DMAA Board of Directors. DMAA has reached 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 Committee for Quality Assurance, the Case Management Society of America, the Society of Actuaries and third-party evaluators and researchers. "We understand the critical importance of bringing all stakeholders to the table for this process," Moorhead says. "Consensus is key, and we expect to achieve consensus and meet our goal of producing sound guidelines by year's end." # # # Reporters, please note: The roundtable will not be open to the media or public. About DMAA |
