DEQM IG

The Health Level Seven International® (HL7®) Data Exchange for Quality Measures (DEQM) Implementation Guide (IG) defines how healthcare systems exchange quality measurement information using Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® (FHIR®). It provides a standard way for healthcare organizations, payers, and other systems to share digital quality measure (dQM) data in a consistent and interoperable format.

For example, the DEQM IG supports the electronic exchange of quality reporting information between healthcare providers, health plans, public health agencies, and other organizations.

The DEQM IG supports several types of quality reporting, including:

• Individual reporting - results for a single patient
• Subject list reporting - lists of patients who meet specific measure criteria
• Summary reporting - aggregate quality measure results for a provider or organization
• Gaps in care reporting - identifies patients who may need recommended services

The DEQM Individual MeasureReport profile provides a FHIR-based approach for patient-level quality reporting and serves a similar purpose as Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category I. The DEQM Summary MeasureReport profile provides a FHIR-based approach for aggregate quality reporting and serves a similar purpose as QRDA Category III for aggregate reporting.

The DEQM IG is developed and maintained by the HL7’s Clinical Quality Information (CQI) Work Group through the HL7 standards development and balloting process. It is coordinated with related IGs, including the Quality Measure IG and the Quality Improvement Core (QI-Core) IG, to help ensure consistency across HL7 quality measurement standards.