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Objective: Antibiotics are essential medications for treating life-threatening infections. However, incorrect prescribing can lead to adverse events and contribute to antibiotic resistance. We sought to develop a utilization quality measure that could be used by health insurance plans to track overall prescribing for respiratory conditions. Design: A consensus-based process that included evidence review, testing, and stakeholder input was used to develop a measure and assess its usefulness for the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), a national quality measurement tool. Methods: Guidelines and literature were reviewed to establish the rationale for the measure. The measure was tested in claims data for commercial, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage enrollees to assess feasibility of collecting and reporting needed information. The measure was vetted with multistakeholder advisory panels and posted for public comment to solicit wide input on relevance and usability. Results: Respiratory conditions are frequent reasons for outpatient care in the data assessed. On average, across all lines of business, the measure revealed that approximately one-third of outpatient visits for respiratory conditions are followed by antibiotics. Stakeholders supported the measure as a tool for monitoring antibiotic prescribing across health plans alongside existing measures that assess inappropriate prescribing for specific conditions. The final measure assesses the number of antibiotic prescriptions dispensed across all outpatient respiratory-related encounters at a health-plan level. Conclusions: The measure on antibiotic prescribing for respiratory conditions was relevant, feasible, and useful. Stakeholders strongly supported the newly developed measure and recommended its integration into HEDIS.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to develop a set of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-related measure concepts to be tested in a health care system. Existing measures assessing the quality of diabetes care do not include modern approaches to diabetes management, such as CGM. Continuous glucose monitors rival traditional methods of measuring diabetes management by providing real-time, longitudinal data and demonstrating glucose variability over time. The Improving Diabetes Quality Initiative seeks to address this gap in diabetes quality measurement. Methods A Technical Expert Panel (TEP) was convened to curate a diabetes quality measures portfolio and conceptualize three new CGM-related quality measures within the portfolio. From the additional measure concepts identified in the portfolio, the TEP prioritized three for conceptualization. High-level measure concept specifications were made available during a public comment period. Results The measure concepts prioritized by the TEP included a shared decision-making measure to assess the value of initiating CGM for disease management, a utilization measure to address disparities in access and use of CGM, and a patient-provider review of CGM data to promote routine consideration of these assessments in treatment and ongoing management. Clinical literature, public comments, and TEP feedback informed full measure specifications. Conclusions The evolution of diabetes technology reflects the need to shift diabetes quality of care. The measure concepts will be tested in a flexible pilot setting to understand the future of diabetes care and communicate the value of CGM to people with diabetes, providers, and payers.