Denominator exception

A denominator exception is any condition that should remove a patient, procedure, or unit of measurement from the denominator of the performance rate only if the numerator criteria are not met. A denominator exception allows for adjustment of the calculated score for those measured entities with higher risk populations. A denominator exception also provides for the exercise of clinical judgment and the measure developer should specifically define where to capture the information in a structured manner that fits the clinical workflow. The measured entity removes denominator exception cases from the denominator. However, the measured entity may still report the number of patients with valid exceptions. Allowable reasons fall into three general categories - medical reasons, patient reasons, or system reasons. Only proportion measures use a denominator exception.