Measuring the Value Functions of Primary Care: Physician-Level Continuity of Care Quality Measure.

PURPOSE: Care continuity is foundational to the clinician/patient relationship; however, little has been done to operationalize continuity of care (CoC) as a clinical quality measure. The American Board of Family Medicine developed the Primary Care CoC clinical quality measure as part of the Measures That Matter to Primary Care initiative. METHODS: Using 12-month Optum Clinformatics Data Mart claims data, we calculated the Bice-Boxerman Continuity of Care Index for each patient, which we rolled up to create an aggregate, physician-level CoC score. The physician quality score is the percent of patients with a Bice-Boxerman Index ≥0.7 (70%). We tested validity in 2 ways. First, we explored the validity of using 0.7 as a threshold for patient CoC within the Optum claims database to validate its use for reflecting patient-level continuity. Second, we explored the validity of the physician CoC measure by examining its association with patient outcomes. We assessed reliability using signal-to-noise methodology. RESULTS: Mean performance on the measure was 27.6%; performance ranged from 0% to 100% (n = 555,213 primary care physicians). Higher levels of CoC were associated with lower levels of care utilization. The measure indicated acceptable levels of validity and reliability. CONCLUSIONS: Continuity is associated with desirable health and cost outcomes as well as patient preference. The CoC clinical quality measure meets validity and reliability requirements for implementation in primary care payment and accountability. Care continuity is important and complementary to access to care, and prioritizing this measure could help shift physician and health system behavior to support continuity.

What predicts local public health agency performance improvement? A pilot study in North Carolina.

Local public health agencies (LPHAs) are faced with many challenges in their role as an integral part of the public health system. It is important to better understand the demands on and the capacity of LPHAs to respond to these challenges. Determining what factors can improve LPHA performance is critical to helping LPHAs face their challenges.The objective of this study was to determine what factors are associated with LPHA performance improvement in North Carolina from 1999 to 2004. In North Carolina, several data sources regarding predictors of LPHA performance, including LPHA workforce, LPHA characteristics, public health expenditures, and population characteristics, are available. Improvement in LPHA performance was measured by nine indicators across diverse services that were collected over multiple years. Linear regression was used to evaluate the significance of predictor variables.Our findings indicate that workforce characteristics such as occupational classification and experience of the workforce, LPHA characteristics such as number of full-time employees, as well as population characteristics are important predictors of LPHA performance.This study provides insight into what is needed to better address LPHA performance improvement. More importantly, study findings indicate which workforce characteristics can be targeted to enhance LPHA performance improvement over time.

Piloting a state health department accreditation model: the North Carolina experience.

Accreditation of state and local public health agencies is a major national priority. North Carolina, a national leader in the accreditation of local public health agencies, undertook a pilot project to evaluate a process for accreditation of the state health agency, the North Carolina divisions of public and environmental health. This pilot project evaluated the instrument and process of a state public health agency accreditation effort and provided information on agency performance. The pilot project used a modified national public health performance standards state instrument to assess state health agency capacity and performance. A site visit followed a self-assessment process conducted internally within the state health department. The pilot project revealed that public health performance standards are a useful framework for state-level standards, but that measurement should focus on stem questions to ensure measurement at an appropriate, not overly detailed, level and reduce the level of work needed to complete the self-assessment process. The project also identified major strengths within the North Carolina Division of Public Health and laid the foundation for ongoing performance improvement under the leadership of the state health director and senior staff. As a result of this experience, accreditation of state health agencies is feasible and provides immediate benefit to state health agency leadership with respect to performance and quality improvement.