Quality-minded hospitalists now have a new research tool at their disposal. In the past few weeks, the National Quality Forum (NQF) unveiled a beta-test version of its Quality Positioning System (QPS), a searchable and interactive database of NQF-endorsed quality measures on a host of medical topics.
The database, which won’t have an official launch until 2012, allows users to create lists of measurements or view lists that other institutions have put together, dubbed portfolios. The idea is that as more users post public portfolios, the more physicians across the country can see what measures work where.
“This is a brand-new tool, so we’re starting to see more and more portfolios created,” said Diane Stollenwerk, MPP, NQF’s vice president of community alliances. “The more people who use the portfolio function in QPS, the more valuable the portfolios and QPS will become for end users.”
HM groups can use the site to create private portfolios that can be shared just among group members. NQF will provide automatic updates on those measures a user is interested in, giving the site an interactive feature. Stollenwerk says future added value in the site will be pushed in part by user feedback. She is hopeful that users will not only create lists of which measures they use, but also comment on their experience in using those measures in specific situations.
“A foundational role QPS can play is simply creating a shared space for people to have the conversation,” Stollenwerk adds.