Performance measurement in chronic kidney disease

Do Americans receive high-value health care? Value only improves by advancing key indicators in one of two directions: increasing quality, decreasing cost, or both. In the face of unyielding mortality rates and the relentless expense of end-stage renal disease, government agencies and professional organizations are now focusing on new quality measures for patients with advancing chronic kidney disease. These performance measures are in early stages of refinement but reflect efforts of payers to slow the incidence of progressive renal disease across the population. To improve quality of care, one must study the performance measures themselves and determine how to capture the necessary data efficiently, identify the appropriate patients for measurement, and assign accountability to providers. Here, we discuss the challenges of doing this well.