CQL and the future of quality measures: Key takeaways from the webinar

The world of healthcare quality measures is evolving rapidly, and our recent webinar on CQL and the future of quality measures shed light on how digital quality measures (dQMs), Clinical Quality Language (CQL), and FHIR are transforming the landscape. 

Featuring industry experts from Firely and the United States National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the webinar discussion covered key insights on how organizations can enhance reporting accuracy, streamline workflows, and drive value-based care. If you missed it, here are the main takeaways.

What is Clinical Quality Language (CQL)?

CQL is a standardized language designed to express logic for quality measures and clinical decision support in a way that is both human-readable and machine-executable. 

Key advantages of using CQL include: 

• Easy to read and understand: CQL is written in a way that makes sense to both humans and computers. This means clinicians and data analysts can read and interpret the rules for quality measures even if they don’t have a background in coding.
• Reusability: CQL logic can be shared and reused across different quality measures and healthcare IT systems. By writing logic once and applying it in multiple contexts, organizations can ensure consistency in measure calculations and avoid duplication.
• Interoperability: Works seamlessly with FHIR-based data models. It can easily access and process information from electronic health records (EHRs) and other healthcare databases.  

What are Digital Quality Measures (dQMs)? 

Digital quality measures use structured, standardized data to evaluate healthcare outcomes. Unlike traditional quality measures that often rely on time-consuming, manual processes, dQMs leverage interoperable standards like FHIR and CQL to streamline measurement and reporting.

By using digital quality measures, organizations can ensure consistency in data collection, reduce errors, and enable seamless data sharing between healthcare providers, payers, and regulators. 

Why shift to dQMs? 

The transition to digital quality measures is being driven by the need for greater automation, interoperability, and accuracy in healthcare analytics. 

Some of the key benefits include: 

• Reduced admin burden: Traditionally, quality reporting required countless hours extracting and interpreting data. Automating quality measurement lowers admin burdens and operational costs, allowing healthcare organizations to allocate more resources to patient care rather than significant amounts of admin.
• Real-time quality tracking: Current reporting can take months to compile and analyze, while dQMs enable instant tracking of performance metrics. This real-time quality measurement allows for immediate insights and action on things like care gaps and patient outcomes.
• More reliable data: By using standardized digital data, dQMs minimize errors and inconsistencies that come with handwritten or free-text clinical notes. This makes reporting and analysis more reliable and repeatable. 

Evan Machusak, AVP Digital Engineering at NCQA, highlighted the importance of this shift:

“We want to shift all the effort and expense onto interpreting and actioning on results, not just computing them. Digital quality measures can significantly reduce operational burden and improve accuracy.” 

The role of FHIR in quality measures 

FHIR plays a critical role in digital quality measures by standardizing healthcare data. FHIR’s widely adopted standard makes it easier for different organizations, including hospitals, payers, and public health agencies, to share and analyze healthcare data securely and efficiently. 

Meanwhile, CQL provides a clear way to define quality measures so that they are consistent and accurate. During the webinar, speakers highlighted how organizations that have already adopted FHIR for interoperability can expand their capabilities by integrating CQL-based dQMs with minimal extra work. 

Ewout Kramer, CTO of Firely and FHIR Evangelist, explained: 

“FHIR is about standardizing the data, and CQL is about standardizing the calculations. When combined, they enable a level playing field in making all these calculations comparable across the board.” 

Do I need to learn FHIR and CQL to work with dQMs?

The answer depends on your role. Analysts, informaticists, and developers working directly with digital measures will benefit from understanding CQL and FHIR. But for most healthcare professionals, using tools that support digital quality measures (dQMs) means they can benefit from automated insights without needing advanced technical knowledge. 

Practical use cases of dQMs 

Our expert panelists shared examples of how organizations are already using dQMs: 

• Identifying gaps in care: Providers can receive automated, real-time notifications when patients are due for preventive screenings, vaccinations, or interventions.
• Supporting value-based care: Real-time tracking allows healthcare organizations to see if providers are adhering to evidence-based guidelines, ensuring they meet quality benchmarks and avoid financial penalties.
• Automating prior authorization: With CQL, healthcare providers can connect directly with insurance systems to streamline the approval process, reducing administrative burdens and speeding up treatment approvals for patients.
• Enabling real-time analytics: Leveraging FHIR and CQL, organizations can build interactive dashboards that show up-to-date patient and population health data. This makes it easier to quickly spot trends, measure performance, and make informed decisions that improve individual care and overall healthcare outcomes.

What’s next for CQL and quality measures? 

As technology advances, the panelists predicted what we can expect: 

• Plug-and-play dQMs for easy implementation: Pre-built cloud solutions will allow healthcare organizations to adopt dQMs more quickly, with minimal setup or technical expertise required.
• AI-powered quality measure improvement: AI will help analyze CQL rules and spot inconsistencies, making calculations more accurate and efficient.
• Enhanced real-time analytics: Healthcare providers will get real-time updates on quality measures, enabling proactive interventions and ensuring care teams can address quality gaps before they impact patient outcomes.
• Empowering patients with their own health data: With user-friendly apps that work with FHIR data, patients will be able to take an active role in managing their health by monitoring their own health status and spotting care gaps. 

Future-proof your organization 

The transition to digital quality measures powered by FHIR and CQL is already underway, and organizations that adopt these standards early will gain a competitive advantage. 

If you missed the webinar, be sure to watch the recording and read the expert answers to the live Q&A to discover how dQMs can transform your healthcare quality measurement processes. 

Want to take it a step further? Read about Firely dQM, our new digital quality measures solution that is streamlining operations and enabling real-time insights or connect with one of our experts to explore how Firely can help your organization.