title: "Meaningful" clinical quality measures for primary care physicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To systematically solicit recommendations from Meaningful Use (MU) exemplars to inform Stage 3 MU clinical quality measure (CQM) requirements.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study combined an electronic health record (EHR)-based CQM performance assessment with focus groups among primary care practices with high performance (top tertile), or "exemplars."
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative exploratory study was conducted in PPRNet, a national primary care practice-based research network. Focus groups among lead physicians from practices in the top tertile of performance on a CQM summary measure were held in early 2014 to learn their perspectives on questions posed by the Office of the National Coordinator related to Stage 3 MU CQMs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three physicians attended the focus groups. There was consensus that CQMs should be evidence-based and focus on high-priority conditions relevant to primary care providers. Participants thought the emphasis of CQMs should largely be on outcomes and that reporting of CQMs should limit the burden on providers. Incorporating patient-generated data and accepting locally developed CQMs were viewed favorably. Participants unanimously concurred that platforms for population management were vital tools for improving health outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using a series of focus groups, we solicited Stage 3 MU CQM recommendations from a group of physicians who have already achieved "meaningful use" of their EHR, as demonstrated by their high performance on current MU CQMs. Adhering to the standards deemed to be important to high-performing real-world physicians could ensure that the MU Incentive Programs achieve their ultimate goal to improve outcomes.
authors.affiliation: edical University of South Carolina, 135 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29425. E-mail: litvincb@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Cara B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Litvin
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ornstein
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wessell
authors.forename: Lynne S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Nemeth
mesh_terms: D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D062527:Meaningful Use / Q000592:standards*; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000592:standards*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States