ACCF/AHA Performance Measures ACCF/AHA Methodology for the Development of Quality Measures for Cardiovascular Technology A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Performance Measures

Summary Statement —Consistent with the growing national focus on healthcare quality, the American College ofCardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have taken a leadership role over the pastdecade in developing measures of the quality of cardiovascular care by convening a joint ACCF/AHA Task Force onPerformance Measures. The Task Force is charged with identifying the clinical topics appropriate for the developmentof performance measures and with assembling writing committees composed of clinical and methodological experts incollaborationwithappropriatesubspecialtysocieties.TheTaskForcehasalsocreatedmethodologydocumentsthatofferguidance in the development of process, outcome, composite, and efficiency measures. Cardiovascular performancemeasures using existing ACCF/AHA methodology are based on Class I or Class III guidelines recommendations,usually with Level A evidence. These performance measures, based on evidence-based ACCF/AHA guidelines, remainthe most rigorous quality measures for both internal quality improvement and public reporting.However, many of the tools for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease involve advanced technologies,such as cardiac imaging, for which there are often no underlying guideline documents. Because these technologiesaffect the quality of cardiovascular care and also have the potential to contribute to cardiovascular healthexpenditures, there is a need for more critical assessment of the use of technology, including the development ofquality and performance measures in areas in which guideline recommendations are absent.