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"Assessment, Order"

Performance/Reporting Period
2025
QDM Datatype (QDM Version 5.6):

Data elements that meet criteria using this datatype should document an order by a clinician or appropriately licensed care provider to a patient or an appropriate provider or organization to perform an assessment indicated by the QDM category and its corresponding value set.

Timing: The time the recommendation is authored (i.e., provided to the patient).

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.

Orders address the time that the order is authored, a single point in time. Some assessment orders will be addressed as components of a care plan which incorporates the period (or timing) when the order is to be carried out. Measure developers should address the feasibility of clinical workflow to capture Assessment, Order when evaluating measures.

QDM Datatype and Definition

Assessment

Assessment is a category used to define specific observations that clinicians use to guide treatment of the patient. An assessment can be a single question, or observable entity with an expected response, an organized collection of questions intended to solicit information from patients, clinicians, or other individuals, or a single observable entity that is part of a collection of questions.
QDM Attributes

authorDateTime

The time the data element was entered into the clinical software. Note, some datatypes include both relevant dateTime and author dateTime attributes. When both are present, author dateTime is included to accommodate negation rationale.

The author dateTime addresses when an activity is documented. Documentation can occur at the beginning, during, at the end, or subsequent to the end of the activity. The author dateTime should be used only if the relevantPeriod cannot be obtained or to represent the time negation rationale is documented.

Note: 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.

negationRationale

Indicates the reason that an action was not performed. Only QDM datatypes that represent actions (e.g., performed, recommended, communication, order, dispensed) allow the negation rationale attribute. The intent is to indicate a justification that such action did not happen as expected. This attribute specifically does not address the presence or absence of information in a clinical record (e.g., documented absence of allergies versus lack of documentation about allergies). QDM assumes a world view that absence of evidence indicates information does not exist or an action did not happen. To express such lack of evidence, an eCQM author should use the CQL expression not exists with reference to the data element rather than the QDM data model. negation rationale in QDM signifies only a reason for such absence, i.e., the reason must be present to qualify for negation rationale. The syntax in the human readable HQMF is addressed in CQL examples and in the MAT User Guide. Prior versions of QDM used the syntax, Procedure, Performed not done. QDM versions starting with 5.3 use the syntax, Procedure, not Performed. Section A-5 provides examples for expressing negation rationale in CQL.

Note: 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.

For updated guidance and implementer feedback regarding use of the QDM negation rationale attribute see Section 6.6.

reason

The thought process or justification for the datatype. In some measures, specific treatments are acceptable inclusion criteria only if a justified reason is present. Each of these measures uses a value set (often, but not exclusively, using SNOMED CT) to express acceptable justification reasons. Other measures specify reasons as justification for exclusions.

Examples include patient, system, or medical-related reasons for declining to perform specific actions. Each of these measures also uses a value set to express acceptable justification reasons for declining to perform expected actions.

requester

The requester is who or what is requesting service (e.g., the individual or organization asking for the service to be carried out). The requester attribute references the new QDM entities (Patient, Care Partner, Practitioner, Organization, or Location) and any or all of the attributes of the respective QDM entity. For example, to reference that a physician who requested a procedure is the same person who was the primary participant in an "Encounter, Performed" and assure the physician's specialty meets the measures requirements, the eCQM can use the Practitioner entity and its attributes. Should the eCQM choose to reference a physician practice or a hospital, the performer can reference the Organization entity and indicate the identifier and/or the organization type. [See Section 2.6 for description of QDM Entities.]
Last Updated: Jun 26, 2024