AMA Physician Consortium for Performance Measurement
(Physician-led Measurement Developer)
     The American Medical Association (AMA)-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® (known as the Consortium) is committed to enhancing quality of care and patient safety by taking the lead in the development, testing, and maintenance of evidence-based clinical performance measures and measurement resources for physicians.

The Consortium is comprised of over 100 national medical specialty and state medical societies; the Council of Medical Specialty Societies; American Board of Medical Specialties and its member-boards; experts in methodology and data collection; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Consortium Advisory Committees address issues related to measurement implementation and evaluation; measure development, methodology and oversight; and planning. Kathleen Blake, MD and Andrea Russo, MD are the Heart Rhythm Society representatives in the Consortium. Visit the AMA website to learn more »

National Quality Forum
     The National Quality Forum (NQF) develops and implements a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting through endorsement of Consortium-approved measures. Established as a public-private partnership, the NQF has broad participation from all parts of the health care system, including national, state, regional, and local groups representing consumers, public and private purchasers, employers, health care professionals, provider organizations, health plans, accrediting bodies, labor unions, supporting industries, and organizations involved in health care research or quality improvement. Together, the organizational members of the NQF will work to promote a common approach to measuring health care quality and fostering system-wide capacity for quality improvement. Visit the NQF website to learn more »

AQA Alliance
     In September 2004, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Physicians (ACP), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), joined together to lead an effort for determining, under the most expedient timeframe, how to most effectively and efficiently improve performance measurement, data aggregation, and reporting in the ambulatory care setting.

Originally known as the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance, the group is now known as the AQA alliance, because its mission has broadened to incorporate all areas of physician practice. The mission of this effort, a broad-based collaboration of physicians, consumers, purchasers, health insurance plans and others, is to improve health care quality and patient safety through a collaborative process in which key stakeholders agree on a strategy for measuring performance at the physician or group level; collecting and aggregating data in the least burdensome way; and reporting meaningful information to consumers, physicians, and other stakeholders to inform choices and improve outcomes. Visit the Alliance website to learn more »