Beyond Wisconsin - To the Nation

WCHQ's founding physician leaders understood the need to both develop measures that align with nationally recognized data sets and to provide a smart, easy-to-use methodology for data identification and capture. As a result:

• WCHQ's current and planned measures all align with nationally endorsed measure sets (AQA, NQF).
• Each measure's evidence-based data criteria are presented in a flow chart for ease of use.
• Data are collected through a web-based interface designed in consultation with data submitters.
• WCHQ's data warehouse architecture is dynamic and scalable, to support any number of measures and reporting entities without the need to modify the reporting platform. In other words, as currently configured, WCHQ's system has the capacity to collect performance results for one measure or thousands of measures from one entity or thousands.

The key components of the data submission process include a secure, online data submission application; a dedicated Clinical Information Coordinator, who ensures that all results are accurate and valid; and a board-appointed Performance Measures Audit Committee that, modeled on similar committees serving public companies, is charged with overseeing the audit and validation process and certifying results from reporting entities.

Member organizations harvest their data according to a detailed measure flowchart, which specifies all data criteria, including the three questions used to construct the denominator. Physician groups often construct the needed data from administrative databases, electronic data capture, and manual chart review, if necessary. Results are submitted to WCHQ using an innovative, secure, webbased application.