An initiative led by the National Quality Forum (NQF, Washington) has unveiled a Health Level Seven (HL7) ballot designed to advance automated performance measurement and reporting.

Representatives from the NQF, American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA, Chicago), Alschuler Associates (East Thetford, Vt.), and HL7 (Ann Arbor, Mich.) are engaging stakeholders in standardizing the Health Quality Measure Format (HQMF) to enable effective implementation and use of performance measures in electronic environments, they say. Through standardization of a health quality measure’s structure, metadata, definitions and logic, the HQMF looks to provide consistency and unambiguous interpretation, according to the organizations.

Development of the HL7 draft standard was spearheaded by Alschuler Associates as part of an NQF contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to promote the effective use of electronic health records, they say.

To review or vote on the HQMF, please visit the HQMF ballot package.