Reaching top quality of care a joint effort

AMA Leader Commentary. By Edward L. Langston, MD, Oct. 1, 2007.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from AMA Chair Edward L. Langston, MD.

In an earlier column, I shared with you my perspective on quality-of-care issues as they related to the everyday practicing physician. This quality-of-care methodology has traditionally followed us and became an integral part of who we are from the first day of medical school through residency training and into our daily activities as we cared for our patients.

Quality of care is a key strategic issue for the American Medical Association as well. The efforts of physicians associated with specialty and state societies to work together in what now is known as the "quality" arena is more recent.

In 2000, in recognition of physicians' professional responsibility to provide quality health care, the AMA brought together specialty and state society physicians interested in and committed to quality and performance measurement. From those roots came the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement. In November 2000, the consortium was created by merging the Performance Measures Advisory Committee, the Specialty Advisory Committee and the three committees originally established and convened by the AMA to provide advice on the current and evolving science of physician performance measurement and outcomes of care.

From that early and visionary effort, the consortium has grown in size, stature and significance. Today membership includes more than 100 national medical specialty societies, state medical societies, medical specialty boards, federal agencies and various health care organizations that share common visions, concerns and a commitment to creating physician-developed performance measures. These measures provide evidence-based metrics that can be used to measure performance, plan needed improvements and then measure again to document their success.