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About > Content Overview > Classification Scheme
The National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC), sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, uses controlled vocabulary concepts to classify various measure attributes represented by the NQMC Complete Summary. This standard "classification scheme" is designed to facilitate searching and retrieving information from the NQMC Web site. In addition, the classification scheme attempts to standardize key measure attributes to facilitate review of the measure, as well as comparisons between measures. The overall approach to classification includes vocabulary concepts developed especially for NQMC, as well as concepts from some of the controlled vocabularies in the U.S. National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Unified Medical Language System (UMLS).
NQMC classifies the following attributes:
New vocabulary concepts are added to the classification scheme as needed. Refer to the Glossary for definitions of select terms.
The following concepts are used to classify the health care setting(s) for which the measure applies:
The following concepts are used to classify the current use of the measure:
NQMC uses Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), along with other controlled vocabularies, such as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), incorporated into NLM's Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to classify disease concepts related to NQMC measures.
The following concepts are used to classify the IOM Care Need categories that apply to the measure's primary clinical component:
The following concepts are used to classify the IOM Domain categories that apply to the measure's primary clinical component:
The following concepts are used to classify the level of health care delivery performance the measure reports in its current use:
The following concepts are used to classify the primary domain of each measure:
The following concepts are used to classify the care given by these professionals as assessed by the measure:
For the purposes of searching, NQMC classifies the target population by age, gender, and vulnerable populations. The following concepts are used:
NQMC uses Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), along with other controlled vocabularies, such as the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) [formally known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)] Common Procedure Coding System and ECRI's Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNS), incorporated into NLM's Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to classify treatment/intervention concepts related to NQMC measures.
Questions regarding NQMC's Classification Scheme are welcome. Send e-mail to info@qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov.
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© 2008 National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
Date Modified: 6/30/2008
