National representation in quality and value initiatives

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) represents the interests of more than 230,000 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and occupational therapy students. One way that AOTA represents the interests of occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) and our clients is through involvement in national health care quality and value initiatives. Participation in national quality initiatives facilitates promoting the role of occupational therapy in client care with other health care providers on these committees, as well as ensuring practitioner input into the selection of quality measures that support the role and outcomes of occupational therapy. National Healthcare Quality Week is celebrated each year in October. It dates back to 1985, when it was established by the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) to celebrate the contributions of health care quality professionals (NAHQ, 2024). To celebrate National Healthcare Quality Week 2024 (October 20 to 26), AOTA will highlight OTPs involved in national quality initiatives and provide tips for practitioners to improve health care quality in occupational therapy.

Practitioners were recently involved in the following national quality and value initiatives:

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Program Expansion Model Technical Expert Panel (TEP) (https://go.cms.gov/4cUMIy7)
• Tracy Mroz, PhD, OTR/L
• Trudy Mallinson, PhD, OTR/L, FOTA
• Battelle’s Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committee Participation (https://p4qm.org/about). Battelle is a CMS-certified consensus-based entity that endorses quality measures (Partnership for Quality Measurement, n.d.).
• Acute Events, Chronic Disease, Surgery, Behavioral Health Committee
• Jamie Wilcox, MPH, OTD, OTR/L
• Cost and Efficiency Committee
• Pamela Roberts, PhD, MSHA, OTR/L, SCFES, FAOTA, CPHQ, FNAP, FACRM
• Post-Acute Care/Long-Term Care Committee
• Pamela Roberts, PhD, MSHA, OTR/L, SCFES, FAOTA, CPHQ, FNAP, FACRM
• National Quality Forum (https://bit.ly/46jBa4Z)
• Social Drivers of Health Data Utilization: Integrating Healthcare and Community Services to Address Health-Related Social Needs (https://bit.ly/3LJjciV)
• Julie Malloy, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, PMP, CPHQ, FNAP
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (https://www.ahrq.gov/)
• Measuring Documentation Burden in Healthcare (https://bit.ly/4bPqHPY)
• Julie Malloy, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, PMP, CPHQ, FNAP

AOTA will continue to highlight practitioners who are involved in national quality and value initiatives on our social media during Healthcare Quality Week and throughout the year.

If you are interested in being involved in national quality and value initiatives, please send your résumé or CV to quality@aota.org.

References

American Occupational Therapy Association. (n.d.). Volume to value. https://www.aota.org/practice/practice-essentials/quality/volume-to-value

National Association for Healthcare Quality. (2024, April 17). Healthcare quality week 2024. https://nahq.org/event/healthcare-quality-week-2024/

Partnership for Quality Measurement. (n.d.). About partnership for quality measurement (PQM). https://p4qm.org/about

Jamar Haggans, MS, OTR/L, CPHQ, is the Director of Quality at AOTA.