National Quality Forum Convenes Diverse Panel of Experts for Hospital Star Rating Summit

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 -- The National Quality Forum issued the following news release:

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- Collaboration on quality and safety rating improvements will help health consumers make informed decisions about their care

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National Quality Forum (NQF) is proud to announce the diverse panel of experts from across the healthcare community who will participate in the Hospital Quality Star Rating Summit on August 23, 2019 at its headquarters in Washington, DC. This national convening will further explore the opportunities, concerns, and risk factors that exist within the Hospital Compare Star Rating system.

Helping to educate consumers and make informed decisions about their care is central to advancing a patient-centered healthcare delivery system. In 2016, the Hospital Compare ratings system was introduced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make hospital quality and safety performance transparent and to empower people making important healthcare decisions.

It is critical that all stakeholders have confidence in the information shared with consumers. Yet, many have voiced concerns with the system's methodology, noting issues related to missing data, small case volume, health disparities, the use of a latent variable model to calculate ratings, and its effectiveness in providing meaningful information to patients and caregivers.

NQF will convene the Hospital Quality Star Rating Summit to consider the perspectives of all stakeholders in recommendations that will improve confidence in the ratings system and consumer use. The Summit will utilize a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) representing an array of industry professionals, patients, and stakeholders led by co-chairs Nancy Foster, Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety Policy at the American Hospital Association and Cristie Upshaw Travis, Chief Executive Officer of the Memphis Business Group.

"NQF is committed to bringing all stakeholders together to improve health outcomes and advance a healthcare delivery system that makes a difference in people's lives." Said NQF President and CEO Shantanu Agrawal, MD, MPhil. "With the leadership represented on the Hospital Quality Star Rating Technical Expert Panel, all stakeholders have an equal voice and shared commitment to work together to strengthen the Star Rating system to help every patient in every community make important healthcare decisions with confidence."

The Hospital Quality Star Rating Summit TEP is comprised of experts, thought leaders, and patients who represent a number of stakeholder groups directly affected by the STARS Rating Program:

* Nancy Foster (co-chair), Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety Policy, American Hospital Association

* Cristie Travis (co-chair), Chief Executive Officer, Memphis Business Group on Health

* Andy Amster, Director of the Center for Healthcare Analytics, Kaiser Permanente

* Arjun Venkatesh, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, YaleCORE

* Ben Harder, Managing Editor and Chief Health Analysis, U.S News and World Report

* Clarke Ross, Public Policy Director, American Association on Health and Disability

* Claudia Salzberg, Vice President, Quality, Federation of American Hospitals

* Danielle Lloyd, Senior Vice President, Private Market Innovations & Quality Initiatives, America's Health Insurance Plans

* David Nerenz, Director Emeritus of the Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research, Henry Ford Health System

* David Shahian, Chair of the STS Council on Quality, Research, and Patient Safety, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

* Janis Orlowski, Chief Health Care Office, Association of American Medical College

* Jody Amodeo, Senior Consultant, Willis Tower Watson

* John Bott, Independent Consumer Ratings Expert

* John Matthew Austin, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

* Kristine Martin Anderson, Executive Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

* Leah Binder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leapfrog

* Lindsey Galli, Director of Education, Patient & Family Centered Care Partners

* Lisa Freeman, Executive Director, Connecticut Center for Patient Safety

* Lisa Woods, Senior Director of US Health Care, Walmart

* Louise Probst, Executive Director, St. Louis Area Business Coalition

* Maryellen Guinan, Senior Policy Analyst, America's Essential Hospitals

* Michelle Schreiber, Director of Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

* Omar Lateef, Chief Executive Officer; Chief Medical Officer, Rush University

* Reena Duseja, Chief Medical Officer for Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

* Stephanie Clouser, Data Scientist, Kentuckiana Health Collaborative

* Wendy Marinkovich, Executive Director, Provider Measurement, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

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About NQF:

The National Quality Forum (NQF) works with members of the healthcare community to drive measurable health improvements together. NQF is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization that gives all healthcare stakeholders a voice in advancing quality measures and improvement strategies that lead to better outcomes and greater value. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.