The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy has partnered with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Quality Forum (NQF) to create the Measures Application Partnership (MAP) Rural Health Workgroup. The workgroup was formed by CMS in 2017 to advise on the selection of rural-relevant measures. This workgroup ensures the perspectives of rural residents and providers—those who are most affected and most knowledgeable about rural measurement challenges and solutions—have adequate representation on MAP.
The workgroup has developed recommendations and identified a core set of the best available (i.e., “rural relevant”) measures and identified rural-relevant gaps in measurement in the MAP Rural Health Draft Report 2. NQF is taking public comments on these recommendations until June 30. Following the commenting period, the workgroup will convene in July to review public comments and finalize its recommendations. A final report will be released by NQF in August. Those wishing to comment on these recommendations can create an NQF account and submit online.
