Subject: AAN Announces 10 Quality Measures for PD Care

EMove, Date: 11/29/2010
Balance of item: http://www.mdvu.org/emove/article.asp?ID=1286

The American Academy of Neurology has formulated a set of 10 quality measures for care of Parkinson’s disease patients. The measures are designed to permit “evaluation of health care on its value, roughly defined as a ratio of quality to cost, and this is a step forward from evaluating health care solely on cost,” according to the report. “Desirable physician-level measures address a gap in care, are evidence-based and linked to outcomes, are actionable, are feasible to collect, and have well-defined specifications.”

The 10 measures (and frequency of inquiry) are:
1. Annual Parkinson disease diagnosis review (at least annually)
2. Psychiatric disorders or disturbances assessment (at least annually)
3. Cognitive impairment or dysfunction assessment (at least annually)
4. Querying about symptoms of autonomic dysfunction (at least annually)
5. Querying about sleep disturbances (at least annually)
6. Querying about falls (every visit)
7. Parkinson disease rehabilitative therapy options (at least annually)
8. Parkinson disease–related safety issues counseling (at least annually)
9. Querying about Parkinson disease medication–related motor complications (every visit)
10. Parkinson disease medical and surgical treatment options reviewed (at least annually)