FALLS CHURCH, Va. — EMS Compass, a national initiative to improve systems of care through meaningful performance measurement, is soliciting recommendations for performance measures.
Measures must be submitted by May 31, 2015 using the online Call for Measures form for consideration.
“It is essential that the EMS community comes together and determines which measures truly define the provision of high-quality, patient-centered EMS care,” said Dia Gainor, Executive Director of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO). “The Call for Measures is one of several opportunities to contribute to an important initiative that will help EMS continue to play a significant role in protecting the public’s health and safety.”
Following the submission of measures, the EMS Compass initiative will host a series of public webinars to receive further input about the submissions. These webinars will help evaluate and prioritize the development of measures based on a few criteria, including:
- Importance to the EMS community
- Capability of EMS systems to measure and report the data
- Available evidence supporting the measure
“The many volunteers participating in this initiative, including experts in EMS, health care and performance improvement, agree that this effort will be most successful with input from the EMS community and others who have ideas on measuring the performance of EMS systems,” said Dr. Bob Bass, EMS Compass steering committee chairperson.
Many EMS agencies have already developed performance measures as part of the quality improvement process, and this is an opportunity to help others do the same.
“Designing the right set of performance measures is critical to supporting local EMS systems in their efforts to improve the quality of the services and patient care they deliver,” said David Williams, PhD, Chair of the EMS Compass measurement design group.
“Health care payers are looking for ways to link reimbursement to quality, so it is vitally important for members of the EMS community to submit performance measures that they feel truly measure the effectiveness of an EMS system.”
A call for measures is part of the measurement design process used by the National Quality Forum (NQF). EMS Compass plans to submit measures to the NQF for endorsement after testing and final approval by the initiative’s steering committee.
The goal of EMS Compass is to create and evaluate performance measures, as well as to develop a system for designing performance measures. The EMS Compass performance measures will be based on the latest National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) version 3.4 data points and will allow EMS agencies to use local and state data meaningfully to improve care. EMS Compass will develop a guidebook to assist EMS providers and agencies in efforts to measure performance and make improvements.