Robust quality measurement helps all parts of the health care system deliver safe, effective and more efficient care. That’s why OptumLabs is driving innovation in measures dedicated to improving health care quality.
Much of our effort in quality measure development is supported by funding from AARP Quality Measure Innovation Grants.
AARP Quality Measure Innovation Grant Program
Launched as a collaboration with AARP, OptumLabs, and the National Quality Forum (NQF) Measure Incubator® in 2016, the goal of the AARP measure innovation grant program is to encourage the use of data-driven evidence to spur improvements in the field of quality measurement.
This program convenes diverse project teams and stakeholders to foster novel measure development, innovate in measurement science and generate new insights on ways to fill important quality measure gaps using OptumLabs’ rich data set.
To date, seven grants focused on the health of those in the 50+ age group have been awarded over three funding cycles, with two new winners announced at the 2019 OptumLabs Research & Translation Forum in November.
AARP-funded projects
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Making an impact
The AARP sponsored quality measurement work is designed to translate to the development of meaningful performance measures that will eventually fill important quality gaps, support accountability in value-based care models and improve the lives of older Americans.
A few of these projects are already poised to make an impact on care:
- Results of the Tufts Medical Center project were recently published in Cancer Medicine. Ultimately, Weingart and his team hope the work can be extended to integrate cancer-specific trigger tools into the electronic health record, allowing clinicians to identify and address treatment-related adverse events in real time.
- Mayo Clinic has developed a quality measure for appropriate diabetes management to help doctors recognize patient complexity and find the “sweet spot” for each patient circumstance; considering the benefits and harms of each medication, and aiming for “better,” not always “lower,” blood sugar levels.
We are helping to create measures that matter — not just to scientists and researchers, but to everyone involved in health care.