The Opportunity

Behavioral health refers to a continuum of services for individuals at risk of, or suffering from, mental, behavioral, or addictive disorders ranging from mood and anxiety disorders to substance abuse to post traumatic stress disorder. According to SAMHSA’s 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 43.6 million (18.1%) Americans ages 18 and up have experienced some form of mental illness and 20.2 million adults (8.4%) have had a substance use disorder. Of these, 7.9 million people had both a mental disorder and substance use disorder, also known as co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. Behavioral health costs in the United States continue to rise and continue to be a leading cause of disability that cost healthcare and employers billions of dollars each year. However, while many of the illnesses and disorders that fall under the behavioral health umbrella are often chronic in nature, people can and do recover when provided with timely, high-quality, coordinated, and evidence based care. Improving quality measures and shifting towards a culture of measurement-based care can enhance the quality and ultimately, outcomes of behavioral health services.

To date, NQF has endorsed approximately 47 performance measures related to behavioral health, specifically focused on mental health and substance abuse.

As part of this project, seven NQF-endorsed measures that are due for maintenance will be re-evaluated against the most recent NQF measure evaluation criteria. Specific conditions and topics addressed by these maintenance measures include alcohol and substance use, tobacco use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression.

Objectives

A multi-stakeholder Standing Committee will evaluate newly submitted measures and seven NQF-endorsed measures that are undergoing maintenance review to make recommendations for which measures should be endorsed as national consensus standards. This Committee will seek to endorse measures for improving the delivery of behavioral health services, achieving better behavioral health outcomes, and improving the behavioral health of the U.S. population, especially those with mental illness and substance abuse.

NQF Process

Measures will be considered for NQF endorsement as national voluntary consensus standards. Consensus on the recommendations developed through NQF's formal Consensus Development Process (CDP, Version 1.9). This project involves the active participation of representatives from across the spectrum of healthcare stakeholder and will be guided by a Standing Committee (PDF).

Funding

This project is supported under a contract provided by the Department of Health and Human Services. For information about the availability of auxiliary aids and services for NQF’s federally funded projects, please visit: http://www.medicare.gov/about-us/nondiscrimination/nondiscrimination-notice.html.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact the project team at 202-783-1300 or via email at behavioralhealth@qualityforum.org.