News Details

Quality Updates

Feb 11, 2016

On January 12, 2016, your Academy submitted comments to the National Quality Forum (NQF) on the Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) 2015-2016 Considerations for Implementing Measures in Federal Programs. Your Academy commented on unresolved problems related to risk adjustment, attribution, appropriate sample sizes, and the ongoing lack of relevant measures for certain specialties. Your Academy also commented on the importance of uniform and current data collection across a variety of post-acute care settings with a major emphasis on appropriate quality standards and risk adjustment to protect patients against underservice.

On January 14, 2016, your Academy supported a letter sponsored by the Spine Intervention Society’s (SIS) Multi-Specialty Pain Work Group (MPW) commenting on the Washington State Health Care Authority’s (WA HCA) Health Technology Assessment Program regarding their draft evidence report on spinal injections.

On January 30-31, 2016, your Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Committee and sub-committees held their annual in-person strategic planning session.

Dr. Ross Zafonte was selected to serve on the NQF Standing Committee for the Neurology Project 2015-2016. This committee will work to identify and endorse performance measures for accountability and quality improvement that address strokes, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, and other neurological conditions.

Your Academy’s Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) Committee submitted comments to the CDC on their draft guidelines for “Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.” Your Academy thanks James Atchison, DO and Steve Stanos, DO, for providing subject matter expertise in your Academy’s review of this guideline.

Your EBP’s comments, through the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, were favorably incorporated on the clinical questions being considered for the development of the NASS Low Back Pain Clinical Practice Guideline. Mathew Smuck, MD, represents your Academy on this work group.