Electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) progress through multiple lifecycle stages.
The CMS Measures Management System Blueprint outlines core processes for measure developers to follow when moving through the Measure Lifecycle for the quality measures used in various quality initiatives and programs.
Opportunities are available for the public to engage in the different stages of the Measure Lifecycle including Call for Measures, Technical Expert Panels (TEPs), testing, and Public Comments.
These are the steps, tools, and actors for each eCQM Lifecycle stage.
Conceptualization
Steps: Conceptualization initiates the Measure Lifecycle. Perform an environmental scan to identify measure concepts, measurement gaps, determine the evidence base for measure concepts for development, look for competing and related measures, and draft the business case. The end goal of measure conceptualization is a meaningful, well-researched measure concept with well-defined initial components (e.g., initial population, denominator, numerator).