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Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs)

Electronic clinical quality measures use data from electronic health records (EHR) and/or health information technology systems to measure health care quality. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) use eCQMs in a variety of quality incentive programs and to publicly report data about quality. eCQMs assist to quantify quality in the health care system. Measuring and reporting CQMs helps to make sure that care is delivered safely, effectively, equitably and timely.

Championing eCQMs

The four malnutrition eCQMs have been adopted by numerous health systems and hospitals throughout the nation. View the below videos to learn about RDN success stories, hear a leadership message from the Academy president and stakeholders and apply the call to action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find out more about the eCQMs. What impact will they make in your facility, who needs to be involved, why they are relevant to you, and how can you get started by reviewing the FAQs.

Measures Specification Manual

The Measures Specification Manual serves as a guide for practitioners to readily implement the malnutrition electronic clinical quality measures within their hospital systems. This manual provides an overview of the measures, specification of each measure including its rationale, available resources, and data element dictionary.

Overview and Downloadable Specification Files for the Malnutrition eCQMs:

  • NQF #3087/MUC16-294: Completion of a Malnutrition Screening within 24 hours of Admission
  • NQF #3088/MUC16-296: Completion of a Nutrition Assessment for Patients Identified as At-Risk for Malnutrition within 24 hours of a Malnutrition Screening
  • NQF #3089/MUC16-372: Nutrition Care Plan for Patients Identified as Malnourished after a Completed Nutrition Assessment
  • NQF #3090/MUC16-344: Appropriate Documentation of a Malnutrition Diagnosis

The table below lists the Academy’s four eCQMs for malnutrition with assigned NQF numbers and downloadable specification files. Included are hypertext markup language (HTML) file detailing the measure specification, two extensible markup language (XML) files coded for hospital adoption into an electronic health record system, and an excel document resource file of with corresponding informatics value sets.

National Quality Forum (NQF) Number Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Number Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) eMeasure Specification — HTML eMeasure/eMeasure Simple — XML Informatics Value Set
NQF #3087 MUC16-294 Completion of a Malnutrition Screening within 24 hours of Admission HTML File Measure XML File
Simple XML File 		Excel Spreadsheet
NQF #3088 MUC16-296 Completion of a Nutrition Assessment for Patients Identified as At-Risk for Malnutrition within 24 hours of a Malnutrition Screening HTML File Measure XML File
Simple XML File 		Excel Spreadsheet
NQF #3089 MUC16-372 Nutrition Care Plan for Patients Identified as Malnourished after a Completed Nutrition Assessment HTML File Measure XML File
Simple XML File 		Excel Spreadsheet
NQF #3090 MUC16-344 Appropriate Documentation of a Malnutrition Diagnosis HTML File Measure XML File
Simple XML File 		Excel Spreadsheet
Global Malnutrition Composite Score HTML File Measure XML File
Simple XML File