Some Academy members got a preview of it at the 2004 AAFP Scientific Assembly in Orlando, Fla.; some no doubt read about it in the November/December Annals of Family Medicine. "It" is METRIC -- Measuring, Evaluating and Translating Research Into Care -- a new AAFP practice performance program that went live Jan. 17.
Innovative AAFP Performance Measurement Program Aims to Meet Multiple Goals
By Cindy Borgmeyer
1/1/2005
Designed to link evidence-based medical practice to education that changes physician behaviors and outcomes measurement, METRIC offers CME credit for completing practice-based performance measurement projects.
But Bruce Bagley, M.D., AAFP medical director of quality improvement, expects the program to have even more far-reaching effects. What physicians learn from completing the METRIC program could, for example, aid their efforts to implement the new model of care described in the Future of Family Medicine report, he notes.
"We see it as a way to get family physicians interested in doing QI work in their practices," Bagley explains. "METRIC is really a 'low hurdle' in terms of the amount of work that physicians will have to do. Our hope is that we can teach family physicians how to do these kinds of interventions on an ongoing basis."
But Bruce Bagley, M.D., AAFP medical director of quality improvement, expects the program to have even more far-reaching effects. What physicians learn from completing the METRIC program could, for example, aid their efforts to implement the new model of care described in the Future of Family Medicine report, he notes.
"We see it as a way to get family physicians interested in doing QI work in their practices," Bagley explains. "METRIC is really a 'low hurdle' in terms of the amount of work that physicians will have to do. Our hope is that we can teach family physicians how to do these kinds of interventions on an ongoing basis."
This story first appeared in the January 2005 FP Report.
"This is a baby step," agrees Christine Pullman, manager of the METRIC program. But programs such as METRIC are key to developing a sustainable QI culture, she adds.
New "take" on CME
In awarding Prescribed credit for this activity, the Academy is moving in parallel with an AMA initiative that last fall began granting Physician's Recognition Award Category 1 credit for performance improvement activities.
Additionally, the AAFP has applied to the American Board of Family Medicine for formal acceptance of METRIC as fulfilling part of the board's Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians, or MC-FP. METRIC was developed with an eye toward satisfying the requirements of MC-FP Part IV -- the performance in practice portion of the new certification process.
Go here for an overview of the METRIC program and links to information on its history and objectives, as well as to the METRIC modules themselves as they become available.
First up: A module on diabetes; look for it starting Jan. 17. A second module --on coronary artery disease -- will go live in July. Pullman plans to launch two modules, primarily on single disease conditions, annually.
Additionally, the AAFP has applied to the American Board of Family Medicine for formal acceptance of METRIC as fulfilling part of the board's Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians, or MC-FP. METRIC was developed with an eye toward satisfying the requirements of MC-FP Part IV -- the performance in practice portion of the new certification process.
Go here for an overview of the METRIC program and links to information on its history and objectives, as well as to the METRIC modules themselves as they become available.
First up: A module on diabetes; look for it starting Jan. 17. A second module --on coronary artery disease -- will go live in July. Pullman plans to launch two modules, primarily on single disease conditions, annually.
Nuts and bolts
Each METRIC module will include :
- a brief practice assessment survey designed to gather information about the physician's practice environment;
- an audit of 10 patient records from the physician's practice on several performance measures, using a Web-based data abstraction tool;
- a feedback report on the physician's practice assessment responses and baseline performance measurement data, with access to relevant evidence-based performance guidelines;
- an individualized action plan utilizing interventions chosen by the physician and supplemented with selected tools and instructions on their use;
- a second chart audit of 10 patient records; and
- a report comparing baseline and follow-up performance measures data.
Data submitted to the METRIC program represent a valuable resource and will be retained for use in future practice-based research "after having been completely disassociated from the physician's information," Pullman says.
One step further
Bagley says the program should help physicians see the value of using educational interventions as part of their ongoing QI efforts.
"For instance, if an FP puts a registry system in place as one of the interventions chosen as part of his or her METRIC action plan, it is our hope that the physician will realize the value of that system and apply the same principles to registries for multiple chronic conditions," Bagley says.
"The Academy's Practice Enhancement Program will also teach FPs the needed skills to implement the new model of care (described in the FFM report)," he adds. "Many of the interventions that we will recommend in the METRIC program will be the same as those recommended in PEP, so there is some synergy."
Read the Annals article on METRIC at http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/2/6/615.
"For instance, if an FP puts a registry system in place as one of the interventions chosen as part of his or her METRIC action plan, it is our hope that the physician will realize the value of that system and apply the same principles to registries for multiple chronic conditions," Bagley says.
"The Academy's Practice Enhancement Program will also teach FPs the needed skills to implement the new model of care (described in the FFM report)," he adds. "Many of the interventions that we will recommend in the METRIC program will be the same as those recommended in PEP, so there is some synergy."
Read the Annals article on METRIC at http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/2/6/615.
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