February 9, 2015, Washington, D.C. – The Digestive Health Physicians Association® (DHPA®) today commends the ASGE/ACG Task Force on Quality in Endoscopy on the publication of newly updated quality indicators common to all gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. The updated Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Quality Indicators, originally published in 2006, which integrate new data, will allow gastroenterologists to assess, measure, and improve their performance – ultimately providing better GI care to patients and enhancing quality outcomes measurements.
“The work of the ASGE/ACG Task Force enables all gastroenterologists to glean important insights in assessing the quality of their services,” said Scott R. Ketover, M.D., President and Chairman of the Board of DHPA. “The updated quality indicators will serve as a resource for our members as we continually strive to provide the highest quality of care to our patients in independent and integrated medical practices.”
Increasingly, stakeholders – including patient advocacy organizations, payers and policymakers – have called for a means to measure the quality of the services physicians provide. The ASGE/ACG Task Force’s new quality indicators will be critical in guiding efforts to measure and benchmark key components of procedures gastroenterologists perform, and the metrics direct quality improvement initiatives.
“DHPA supports the need for ongoing quality measurement and increased transparency, and looks forward to incorporating these new quality indicators into our daily work. At the end of the day, the health of our patients will be greatly enhanced with these new measures,” said Dr. Arif Aziz, DHPA Chair of Data Analytics.
“Quality Indicators for Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures” can be accessed online at www.giejournal.org or www.nature.com/ajg/index.html.
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