CMS Roadmap for Switching to FHIR-Based Digital Quality Measures

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is steadily moving toward using FHIR-based dQMs, believing they offer a more comprehensive and interoperable approach to quality measurement than the current eCQMs. The goal of this transition is twofold: reducing the reporting burden on care providers and promoting data interoperability. Currently, eCQMs are based on the Quality Data Model (QDM) and are closely tied to EHR-based data sources, limiting their scope. In contrast, dQMs utilize the FHIR standard, which provides a modular, reusable, and scalable data model. This allows dQMs to incorporate data requirements from diverse sources beyond traditional EHRs, including medical devices, clinical systems, and patient-facing applications. By adopting FHIR, CMS is establishing a standardized framework for representing, sharing, and evaluating clinical knowledge artifacts. This standardization ensures that the collected data can be interoperable not just within reporting programs but for various purposes. The transition preserves existing measure intent while modernizing the technical foundation, positioning CMS quality programs for greater scalability and timely insights. CMS is currently seeking public feedback to ensure alignment between human-readable specifications and computable data elements, addressing potential impacts on provider workflows.

Technology Note

FHIR（Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources）は医療データ交換の国際標準。このエントリの関連技術: FHIR