Telehealth Services Or Telephone Management Encounter Union

Data elements that meet criteria using this datatype should document that the medication indicated by the QDM category and its corresponding value set is being taken by the patient. Keep in mind that when this datatype is used with timing relationships, the criterion is looking for a medication being taken for the time frame indicated by the timing relationships.

A QDM Known Issue has been identified related to this datatype. To see this QDM known Issue, please click here.  

Timing:

• relevant dateTime references the time the medication is active on the medication record if it was given or taken at a single point in time.
• relevantPeriod references a start and stop time for an active medication on the medication record that is given or taken over a time interval:
• The relevantPeriod addresses:
  • startTime - when the medication is first known to be used (generally the time of entry on the medication list).
  • stopTime - when the medication is no longer active.

In the original QDM 5.5 publication, stopTime stated: when the medication is discontinued (generally, the time discontinuation is recorded on the medication list). See Appendix 6.3 for clarification regarding definition of "Medication, Active" relevantPeriod stopTime.

Data elements that meet criteria using this datatype should document that a prescription for the medication indicated by the QDM category and its corresponding value set has been dispensed and provided to the patient or patient proxy. In the ambulatory setting, medications are primarily taken directly by patients and not directly observed. Hence, dispensed or fulfillment information is the closest health provider documentation of medication compliance. In settings where patients attest to taking medications in electronic format (perhaps a Personal Health Record), patient attestation of medication taken may be available. The QDM datatype, "Medication, Administered" addresses medication taken; to address the source of the information, a measure addressing such patient attestation would require use of the entity fulfilling the role of the performer attribute for the administration event.

Timing:

• relevant dateTime references the dateTime the prescription dispensing event occurred, i.e., the time the prescription was handed over to the patient or patient’s representative. This timing corresponds to the HL7® FHIR® MedicationDispense.whenHandedOver.
• relevantPeriod addresses the time referenced in the dosage instruction indicating when the medication administration should start and end. This timing corresponds to the HL7® FHIR® MedicationDispense.dosageInstruction.timing.
• author dateTime is reserved for use only for documentation of negationRationale, the reason the dispensing event did not happen.

Notes:

• When calculating cumulative medication duration, the medication dispensed stopTime may be present directly in the fulfillment record. If the stopTime is not available, the duration in days is the difference between the relevantPeriod start and stop times. The record may indicate which of the available refills the fulfillment represents but each dispensing event is unique. Therefore, the measure developer should use CQL logic to address multiple dispensing events over a period of time.
• negation rationale indicates a one-time documentation of a reason an activity is not performed. Negation of QDM datatype-related actions for a reason always use the author dateTime attribute to reference timing and must not use relevant dateTime or relevantPeriod.

Refer to Special Cases in Appendix A (Section 5.7) for scenarios to consider in calculating cumulative medication duration.

Data elements that meet criteria using this datatype should document that the encounter indicated by the QDM category and its corresponding value set is in progress or has been completed.

The "Encounter, Performed" participant references the primary participant.

Previous versions of QDM included an attribute principal diagnosis, defined as the condition that, after study, was determined to be the principal cause of the admission. QDM version 5.5 addresses that concept using the diagnosis rank=1.

A QDM Known Issue has been identified related to this datatype. To see this QDM known Issue, please click here. 

Timing:

• The relevantPeriod addresses:
  • startTime - The time the encounter began (admission time).
  • stopTime - The time the encounter ended (discharge time).
• author dateTime references the time the action was recorded.
• Refer to the eCQM expression to determine allowable timings to meet measure criteria.

Notes:

• negation rationale indicates a one-time documentation of a reason an activity is not performed. Negation of QDM datatype-related actions for a reason always use the author dateTime attribute to reference timing and must not use relevantPeriod.
• The locationPeriod is an attribute of the attribute facility location that addresses:
  • startTime - the time the patient arrived at the location. The time the encounter began (admission time).
  • stopTime - the time the patient departed from the location.

Data elements that meet criteria using this datatype should document that the encounter indicated by the QDM category and its corresponding value set is in progress or has been completed.

The "Encounter, Performed" participant references the primary participant.

Previous versions of QDM included an attribute principal diagnosis, defined as the condition that, after study, was determined to be the principal cause of the admission. QDM version 5.5 addresses that concept using the diagnosis rank=1.

A QDM Known Issue has been identified related to this datatype. To see this QDM known Issue, please click here. 

Timing:

• The relevantPeriod addresses:
  • startTime - The time the encounter began (admission time).
  • stopTime - The time the encounter ended (discharge time).
• author dateTime references the time the action was recorded.
• Refer to the eCQM expression to determine allowable timings to meet measure criteria.

Notes:

• negation rationale indicates a one-time documentation of a reason an activity is not performed. Negation of QDM datatype-related actions for a reason always use the author dateTime attribute to reference timing and must not use relevantPeriod.
• The locationPeriod is an attribute of the attribute facility location that addresses:
  • startTime - the time the patient arrived at the location. The time the encounter began (admission time).
  • stopTime - the time the patient departed from the location.