May 2007

Quality movement a ‘golden opportunity’ for DCs

The quality movement is a “golden opportunity” for chiropractic, according to David Madison, DC, a member of the performance measurement quality workgroup of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

Madison spoke to members of the chiropractic community in a press conference to highlight ACA’s involvement in the quality movement. ACA recently earmarked $150,000 for quality initiatives for fiscal year 2007.

“We have the opportunity to play on a level playing field with others [healthcare providers]. It’s a golden opportunity to show how well we do what we do,” he said.

The reason why quality is on the hot seat, said Jaime Mulligan, ACA’s director of Congressional and regulatory affairs, is because of rising healthcare costs. “Guideline measures have largely been dismissed as a quality measure,” she explained. “Outcome measures are what everyone wants to get to. The current focus is on process measures.”

Mulligan emphasized that quality measures being addressed on a number of different fronts are condition-specific, not profession-specific and are not directed specifically toward chiropractic.

Quality measures are currently being developed by several organizations, such as the American Medical Association (AMA), National Quality Forum (NQF), Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Pay-for-performance is one of the buzzwords of the quality movement. Currently, chiropractors are eligible to participate in the Physician Quality Reporting Program, part of the Tax Relief Health Care Act of 2006. However, said Mulligan, although they are eligible for 2007 and 2008, they have no reporting criteria and are therefore unable to participate in the program. Chiropractors are expected to participate in 2009, and will need to apply for a national provider identifier (NPI) for themselves and their tax entity.

In the meantime, Mulligan and Madison said chiropractors are eligible to participate in the NCQA’s quality program. They encourage all chiropractors to become familiar with quality initiatives. Information is posted on the ACA Web site at www.acatoday.com/quality.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.com

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