Landmark Articles Published by QualityMetric Scientists Report Improvements in
Short Form Health Status Measures and Establish Criteria for Future
Development
Invited Commentary by John E. Ware, Jr., PhD, provides context to the past,
present and future use of patient-reported outcomes as a leading performance
metric for healthcare quality
LINCOLN, R.I., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- As the healthcare industry
struggles to balance cost with quality, standardized and scientifically valid
outcomes data provides real-time, actionable health information to support
clinical and business decision-making. In a recently published Invited
Commentary appearing in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology (JCE), Volume 61,
Number 1, January 2008, John E. Ware, Jr., PhD, Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman of the Board of QualityMetric Health Outcomes Solutions, outlines
noted improvements made to short-form health outcomes surveys (including the
SF-36v2(R), SF-12v2(R), and SF-8(TM) Health Surveys), significantly increasing
their usefulness and application and enhancing their value as a recognized
measurement standard for healthcare quality.
Ware's Invited Commentary also serves as introduction to a series of
QualityMetric articles scheduled to appear in the JCE throughout 2008.
Article topics range from the detailed substantiation of improvements made to
"static" (paper and pencil administered) outcomes surveys to evaluating the
migration to electronic data capture using computer adaptive testing (CAT), a
measurement advancement first introduced to healthcare by QualityMetric over
eight years ago. "Of note, we are publishing proof in the JCE article series
that our CAT software is a more practical and precise way of knowing what the
SF-36v2(R) Health Survey, the world's most widely accepted standard for
outcomes measurement, tells us," commented Ware. "Practically speaking, we're
making outcomes measurement faster, easier and more precise than ever before,
while maintaining complete comparability with over 20 years of reliability and
validity evidence and interpretation guidelines."
A second article in the QualityMetric series also appears in the January
JCE issue. Evaluation of a Preliminary Physical Function Item Bank Supports
the Expected Advantages of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement
Information System (PROMIS), details development of an item bank that builds
on advancements made by QualityMetric over six years ago. PROMIS seeks to
improve and standardize tools of clinical research across multiple US National
Institutes of Health (NIH). As part of a five-year project that began in
2004, PROMIS (www.nihpromis.org) has formed a cooperative network of
institutions. Ware serves as Co-Principal Investigator with Jim Fries, MD at
Stanford University, one of six PROMIS Primary Research Sites, with additional
support provided by QualityMetric's measurement science team, including
Matthias Rose, MD, PhD, lead author of the second article, and Jakob B.
Bjorner, MD, PhD. "Investment in the early development of physical function
and other item banks by QualityMetric has proven to be very useful in testing
important assumptions regarding the practical application of CAT in
healthcare," offered Ware. "We are gratified that these early efforts have
supported PROMIS and to be a part of this very esteemed collaboration."
QualityMetric's efforts to support the PROMIS initiative are complemented
by the company's expansive scientific research and innovation agenda, which
includes development of CAT measurement systems for all of the eight domains
of health as measured by the SF-36v2 and for disease-specific impact for
adults with asthma, diabetes, obesity and coronary disease. The company is
also developing CAT systems for children to include both generic and disease-
specific outcomes measurement. QualityMetric's CAT systems are referred to as
dynamic health assessments (DYNHA(R)) and offer increased precision, most
notably at the patient level, while achieving substantial reductions in
respondent burden. The advantages of DYNHA include faster, easier, cost-
effective data collection with real-time reporting at patient and provider
levels.
QualityMetric's DYNHA development initiatives are supported by more than a
dozen Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the NIH, a federal
set-aside program designed for domestic small business concerns engaging in
research and development efforts that have strong potential for
commercialization and public benefit. James E. Dewey, PhD, Chief Innovation
Research Officer for QualityMetric stated, "We are integrating the latest
research in modern psychometrics with advancements in technology to build
DYNHA systems that combine the best of generic and disease-specific outcomes
measurement, redefining how outcomes are measured and reported in healthcare."
QualityMetric Articles for 2008 Journal of Clinical Epidemiology:
Title Authors
1. Improvements in Short-Form Measures JE Ware
of Health Status: Introduction to a Series
2. Evaluation of a Preliminary Physical M Rose, JB Bjorner,
Function Item Bank Supports the Expected J Becker, J Fries,
Advantages of the Patient-Reported JE Ware
Outcomes Measurement Information System
(PROMIS)
3. Improvements in the SF-36 Health Survey: JE Ware, M Kosinski,
The SF-36v2 JB Bjorner, et al.
4. Improvements in the SF-12 Health Survey: M Kosinski, JE Ware,
The SF-12v2 D Turner-Bowker, B Gandek,
et al.
5. The SF-8 Health Survey: Single-Item M Kosinski, JE Ware,
Measures of SF-36 Health Survey Domains B Gandek, et al.
6. A 10-item Survey is a Feasible Alternative R Saris-Baglama,
to the Child Health Questionnaire D Turner-Bowker,
(CHQ-PF50(TM)) M DeRosa, et al.
7. Calibration of Item Banks for Use in JB Bjorner, JE Ware,
Improving Estimates of Eight SF-36 M Kosinski, et al.
Health Constructs
8. The Use of Computerized Adaptive Testing JE Ware, M Kosinski,
Software in Estimating SF-36 Health Survey JB Bjorner, X Sun,
Scales and Summary Measures et al.
9. Comparison of Widely-Used "Static" Short- JE Ware, JB Bjorner,
Form and Computerized Dynamic Estimates M Kosinski, X Sun,
of Generic Health Domains et al.
About QualityMetric:
QualityMetric is the leading provider of health outcomes measurement
surveys and real-time delivery systems that use proprietary methodologies and
data assets to produce actionable health information. The company was founded
in 1997 by John E. Ware, Jr., PhD, principal developer of the world's most
widely used patient-reported outcomes surveys including the SF-36v2(R), SF-
12v2(R), SF-10(TM) for Children, and SF-8(TM) Health Surveys. QualityMetric
developed the world's first dynamic health assessments (DYNHA(R)),
dramatically enhancing the insight that can be derived from outcomes data.
Supported by an Outcomes Insight(TM) Analytics Team, QualityMetric clients
benefit from full-service solutions that combine scientific integrity,
practical generic and disease-specific health information, ease of use and
cost efficiency. Visit us at www.qualitymetric.com.
SOURCE QualityMetric Health Outcomes Solutions
Dawn Giles of Giles Marketing for QualityMetric Health Outcomes Solutions,
+1-401-383-9934, dgiles@gilesmarketing.com
