The NQF Scientific Methods Panel: Enhancing the Review and Endorsement Process for Performance Measures.

In the summer of 2017, the National Quality Forum (NQF) announced the formation of a Scientific Methods Panel (hereafter referred to as "the Panel") as part of a redesign of its endorsement process. NQF created the Panel in response to stakeholder request during a Kaizen improvement event held in May 2017. Given the Panel's role in the endorsement of performance measures used in national payment programs, the objective of this article is to describe the work of the Panel, and to describe its function in the larger context of the NQF measure endorsement process and in the measurement enterprise writ large.

Likelihood of hospital readmission after first discharge: Medicare Advantage vs. fee-for-service patients.

This study tests whether the likelihood of hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge is different for enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans versus the standard fee-for-service program. A key requirement is to control for self-selection into Advantage plans. The study uses statewide inpatient databases maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for five states in 2006.