In an effort to make performance measurements more understandable throughout
the healthcare community, the Joint Commission has developed a framework for
a new, cohesive system.
A Joint Commission expert Roundtable drew up the paper, titled, “Development
of a National Performance Measurement Data Strategy.” It is the first step
in developing an infrastructure that would support a system of data sharing,
operating under agreed upon rules, and a governance structure.

“With the explosion of performance measurement efforts, the ability to share
and merge data has become crucial to developing consistent and true
assessments of care,” says Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, Roundtable co-chair, and
member of the Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners.

The paper outlines 22 principles and identifies these 3 strategies:

* A standardization of measure definitions and data collection processes to
produce comparable information.

* Construction of a data highway to support the exchange of health
information and data exchange.

* Addressing the concerns of the privacy of personal health information by
creating rules and principles that focus on data use, sharing, and
integrity.
 
The full paper can be found on the Joint Commission’s website.