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The Universal Foundation and dQMs are part of an overall strategy to reduce burden and maximize the power of digital measures to improve patient outcomes. The Universal Foundation establishes a high-priority, standardized set of quality measures to promote alignment across CMS’s payment and quality programs, and focus the nation’s health system on key areas for improvement. Universal Foundation measures also emphasize building a modern health data exchange infrastructure to deliver the highest-quality care to patients—wherever they receive care.

As Congress continues to advance price transparency and value-based care, dQMs can revolutionize consumer choice. Through combined price and quality outcomes, consumers can get a true picture of the value of their care. Publicly available quality measurement information is about 2 years out of date; dQMs allow providers to view patient outcomes and needed interventions in real time.

dQMs pull data from certified health technology, which adheres to patient privacy and protections mandated in the 21st Century Cure Act. Additionally, health information will reside with HIPAA covered entities that safeguard the information and comply with federal and state regulations and standards for handling PHI.