Glossary

Case Management Modeling and Notation “is a graphical notation used for capturing work methods that are based on the handling of cases requiring various activities that may be performed in an unpredictable order in response to evolving situations.” Visual Paradigm. (n.d.). What is case management and modeling notation (CMMN). Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/cmmn/what-is-cmmn/

A case presentation is a formal communication between health care professionals (e.g., physicians, pharmacists, nurses, therapists, nutritionists) providing a synthesis of a patient's clinical information. Components of a case presentation typically include identifying information, reason for consultation/admission, chief complaint (in the patient's own words), recent history, active medical problems, medications, allergies, social history, physical examination findings, relevant test results, assessment, and treatment plans.

The Change Review Process (CRP) provides electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) users the opportunity to review and comment on draft changes to the eCQM specifications and supporting resources under consideration by the measure steward. CMS conducts the CRP through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Project Tracking System (Jira) website. The goal of the CRP is for eCQM implementers to comment on the potential impact of changes to eCQMs so CMS and measure stewards can make improvements to meet CMS’s intent of minimizing provider and vendor burden in the collection, capture, calculation, and reporting of eCQMs. To participate in the CRP, users must have a Jira account and log into the eCQM Issue Tracker where the eCQM developer posts specific CRP tickets for public comment and voting. Users can sign up for an account on the login in page.

Clinical decision support is health information technology functionality building upon the foundation of an electronic health record to provide persons involved in care processes with general and person-specific information, intelligently filtered and organized, at appropriate times, to enhance health and health care.

Clinical decision support alert fatigue occurs when a clinician, after receiving too many alerts or reminders, begins to override or ignore further alerts without attending to them, thus potentially decreasing the care improvements expected from the tools.

The most commonly implemented clinical decision support (CDS) alerts prompt clinicians about guidance, e.g., drug-allergy, drug-drug, and drug-disease warnings, or provide dosing guidance. Passive CDS includes order sets, patient data reports, and documentation templates while active CDS includes rules and alerts usually delivered through computerized provider order entry or other functions of the electronic health records.

Clinical decision support (CDS) artifacts are items representing medical knowledge from various knowledge sources (e.g., clinical guidelines, peer-reviewed articles, local best practices, and clinical quality measures). The artifacts can take many forms, but the goal is to create computable, interoperable translations using Clinical Quality Language. As of March 2024, there are 72 CDS artifacts found in the Repository. A variety of organizations, including federal agencies, contribute CDS artifacts to the Repository and they span a number of topics including anatomy, health care, and diseases.

A clinical decision support (CDS) developer is an individual or organization that translates knowledge to a structured and/or executable tool aiding in making evidence-informed decisions about a patient’s health care. CDS developers may or may not be the original knowledge authors (e.g., guideline developers, subject matter experts) or the final implementers. They ensure accurate and consistent reflection of the original clinical knowledge in the appropriate standard coding schemes (e.g., Clinical Quality Language and terminologies such as Current Procedural Terminology and SNOMED CT), accounting appropriately for intellectual property and licensing.

Clinical decision support (CDS) implementation activities refer to configuration, customization, and other needed steps for health information technologies to function for a specific organization or group of end-users. For example, with CDS, the local implementation will consider end-user workflows to identify the points at which to present the CDS, determine which data fields in local databases will map to data fields that drive the CDS, and educate end-users about important features of the CDS. Typically, this involves translation of guideline recommendations from L3 to L4 or other local adaptation (localization).

Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) is a popular, flexible markup standard developed by Health Level Seven International® defining the structure of certain patient medical records, such as discharge summaries and progress notes, as a way to better exchange this information between health care providers and patients. Wallask, S. (n.d.). Clinical document architecture (CDA). TechTarget: Health IT. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/definition/Clinical-Document-Architecture-CDA

Clinical information systems "are computer systems that provide immediate access to current patient data regarding clinical notes, medication history, laboratory reports, images, and reports either directly or via data networks. They are parts of a hospital information system, which facilitates direct patient care." Islam, M. M., Poly, T. N., & Li, Y-C. J. (2018). Recent advancement of clinical information systems: Opportunities and challenges. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 27(1), 83–90. https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0038-1667075

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are systematically developed statements to assist clinician and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. They are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options. Committee on Standards for Developing Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines. (2011). Clinical practice guidelines we can trust. Institute of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209539/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK209539.pdf  

A clinical quality measure (CQM) is a mechanism used for assessing the degree to which a clinician competently and safely delivers clinical services appropriate for the patient in an optimal time frame. CQMs are a subset of the broader category of quality measures.

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to contract with a consensus-based entity (CBE) regarding performance measurement. The CMS CBE endorses quality measures through a transparent, consensus-based process incorporating feedback from diverse groups of interested parties to foster health care quality improvement.

The CBE also convenes multi-interested party groups to discuss the Measures Under Consideration List as part of the pre-rulemaking process and reviews CMS's existing measure portfolio for possible change recommendations.

The CMS Data Element Library (DEL) is the centralized resource for CMS assessment instrument data elements (e.g. questions and responses) and their associated health information technology standards. It currently includes CMS's post acute care assessment instruments.

The CMS National Quality Strategy (NQS) is a long-term initiative with the aim to promote the highest quality outcomes and safest care for all individuals. The CMS NQS has four priority areas: Outcomes and Alignment, Equity and Engagement, Safety and Resiliency, and Interoperability and Scientific Advancement. 

Code repositories are a file archive and web hosting facility providing secure storage for code and version control. 

A code system is a managed collection of concepts with each concept represented by at least one internally unique code and a human readable description, e.g., SNOMED CT.

A coding system is the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions.

A comment period is the period of time the public has to respond to a request for public comment, such as a proposed rule, Request for Information, a new measure posted on the Measures Management System Hub, or some other document. The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to give the public an opportunity to participate in rulemaking. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 provide guidance noting a comment period generally should be no less than 60 days, but the length of the comment period varies if not part of the rulemaking process.

Communication activities are the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions affecting health. Health communications link the fields of communication and health and are increasingly recognized as necessary elements to improve personal and public health. Examples of communication activities include traditional (e.g., print through manuscripts, professional presentations, issue briefs, white papers, television, radio media) and non-traditional (e.g., social marketing techniques and social media platforms) methods of communication to present and disseminate information, such as clinical guidelines to encourage their use and adherence. For more information see Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Gateway to Health Communication.

A composite measure is a measure containing two or more individual measures, resulting in a single measure with a single score.

Computable care guidelines are the expression of and sharing of health care guidelines in a grammar understood by a software application. Integrating the Health Enterprise. (n.d.). Computable care guidelines. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://wiki.ihe.net/index.php/Computable_Care_Guidelines

Computer code is the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program.

Concept maps are visual representations of information that can take the form of charts, graphic organizers, tables, flowcharts, Venn Diagrams, timelines, or T-charts. The Learning Center - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Concept maps. Retrieved March 20, 2024, from https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/using-concept-maps/

"A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest" (p. 46). For example, a work group member might have pharmaceutical stock for a vaccine recommended as part of a clinical guideline. Committee on Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice. (2009). Conflict of interest in medical research, education, and practice. Institute of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.17226/12598

A continuous variable is a measure score in which each individual value for the measure can fall anywhere along a continuous scale and aggregated using a variety of methods such as the calculation of a mean or median (for example, mean number of minutes between presentation of chest pain to the time of administration of thrombolytics).

A Critical Access Hospital (CAH) is a hospital in a federal program established in 1997 as part of the Balanced Budget Act designed to promote rural health planning, network development, and improve access to health services for rural residents. CAHs represent a separate provider type with their own Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoP) and a separate payment method. The Code of Federal Regulations lists the CoPs for CAHs at 42 CFR 485 subpart F.

Crowd sourcing is a method to obtain information or input into a particular task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet.