Author Archives: Ellen Schultz, Katherine Ast, & Rebecca Kirch

About Ellen Schultz, Katherine Ast, & Rebecca Kirch

Katherine Ast, MSW, LCSW, has been Director of Quality and Research at AAHPM for 9 years. She is a licensed clinical social worker and specialist in quality and performance measure development. Katherine is pursuing her PhD in social work, focusing on implementing patient-reported quality measures to improve health outcomes, integrating emotional and physical wellness care, and preventing violence and suffering through strengthening community connections.

Centering measurement on patients and family caregivers while developing two novel quality measures

By | April 15, 2022
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A nurse in blue scrubs has her right arm around the shoulders of an older woman holding a wooden cane. Both are seated on a blue couch.

In healthcare, what gets measured gets done. This is particularly true as the use of value-based purchasing, alternative payment models, and consumer tools to compare quality expand in the U.S. Centering measurement on patients, and focusing on their needs, preferences, and values, ensures that what we measure really matters, not only to patients and their… Read More »

Measuring what matters to patients and their family caregivers: Measure development isn’t just for measure developers

By | March 31, 2022
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On the left, a nurse speaks to a male patient. In the center, a young man hugs a woman. On the right, an older woman holding the hand of a man behind her. A banner across the top says, "Palliative Care Quality Measures Project." Text across the bottom reads, "Elevating Patient and Caregiver Voices."

In today’s healthcare system, measurement influences everything from quality improvement to payments. So it matters greatly what gets measured. Measuring what matters to patients and their family caregivers will focus healthcare on their needs, preferences, and values. In a recent measure development effort, we brought lived and professional experience together at every stage. We found… Read More »