AQA

In September 2004, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Physicians (ACP), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), joined together to lead an effort for determining, under the most expedient timeframe, how to most effectively and efficiently improve performance measurement, data aggregation, and reporting in the ambulatory care setting.

Originally known as the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance, the coalition is now known as the AQA alliance because its mission has broadened to incorporate all areas of physician practice.

The mission of this effort, a broad based collaborative of physicians, consumers, purchasers, health insurance plans and others, is to:

improve health care quality and patient safety through a collaborative process in which key stakeholders agree on a strategy for measuring performance at the physician or group level; collecting and aggregating data in the least burdensome way; and reporting meaningful information to consumers, physicians, and other stakeholders to inform choices and improve outcomes.

The effort’s goals are to reach consensus as soon as possible on:

A set of measures for physician performance that stakeholders can use in private health insurance plan contracts and with government purchasers;
A multi-year strategy to roll-out additional measurement sets and implement measures into the marketplace;
A model (including framework and governing structure) for aggregating, sharing and stewarding data; and
Critical steps needed for reporting useful information to providers, consumers and purchasers.

AQA’s mission and goals focus on key areas that can help identify quality gaps, control skyrocketing cost trends, reduce confusion over redundant measures and alleviate administrative burdens in the marketplace.

The four founding organizations have been strongly encouraged by the support and participation by a broad range of stakeholder groups in moving toward this goal. AQA’s leadership has recently been expanded to include new steering group members and supporting organizations, which have expressed interest and been actively involved in AQA activities.