Committee debate centered on whether current quality metrics are misdirecting attention and whether transparency around risk adjustment may incentivize gaming; members suggested focusing measures on preventing poor care rather than pushing 'good to great.'

Measuring Our Way to Mediocrity

Scott Frey said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' long‑stay antipsychotic quality measure fails to distinguish appropriate prescribing, creating pressure to withhold needed treatment; he urged CMS to retire and modernize the measure.

Google introduces a coding agent skill that automates the agent quality improvement loop using model-based AutoRaters developed with DeepMind. The skill orchestrates a five-stage evaluation flywheel (prepare data, run inference, grade, analyze failures, optimize) where the optimizer and evaluator st

The Washington Health Alliance presented 2024 Community Checkup data showing spending increases above national averages, uneven quality performance across providers, and about a third of patients lacking an attributed primary care relationship—a pattern associated with higher costs and lower preventive care.

The Department of Health Care Access and Information workgroup proposed five access indicators (continuity, distance traveled, visits per population, usual source of care, routine checkups) and the "core four" quality measures for the 2026 Primary Care Snapshot, and recommended reporting avoidable emergency-department visits beginning in 2027 to allow methodology alignment.

Health system reports successful completion of validation survey and strong patient satisfaction ratings.

Testimony on S.197 focused on establishing a primary‑care payment model and spending target: business and provider groups supported investment, payers urged clearer quality metrics and data sharing, and the Health Care Advocate proposed near‑term levers such as Medicaid, QHP design, and state employee plan changes.

The History of Quality Measures and Why They Persist

Many US healthcare workers started this year already suff...