Press Ganey's Chief Scientist Appointed To National Quality Forum's Patient Reported Outcomes Panel

SOUTH BEND, Ind., June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dennis Kaldenberg, PhD, chief scientist and senior vice president at Press Ganey Associates, Inc., has been appointed to the National Quality Forum's (NQF's) Patient-Reported Outcomes Panel for the Patient-Reported Outcomes Project. Kaldenberg will join a proposed group of leading experts that intend to focus on key methodological issues related to developing and using patient reported outcomes (PROs) in performance measures. The group will be comprised of researchers, clinicians, performance measure developers and consumer and purchaser representatives. Kaldenberg is a noted expert on patient reported outcomes who has been with Press Ganey for more than 15 years and has served as chief scientist for four years.

"It is an honor to join such an esteemed group of experts and I am eager to join the effort of addressing such an important industry topic," said Kaldenberg. "Together, we will identify critical issues related to the use of patient-reported outcomes in performance measurement and determine a critical path to achieving NQF endorsement.  I am confident that the group will benefit from our experience in measure design and implementation."

Kaldenberg, a leading scholar in the health care industry, has authored numerous works on a variety of topics. In particular, his research and insights have focused on patient satisfaction, health care service delivery, health care professionals, and research methods. As a thought leader, Kaldenberg is regularly a featured speaker at professional associations and has been instrumental in the creation and revision of many tools to measure patient experience, patient satisfaction and other patient-reported outcomes.

The increasing integration of delivery systems provides an opportunity to manage the entire patient-focused episode of care and to assess the impact of care on patient outcomes, including patient-reported outcomes. The panel aims to identify issues regarding collecting patient-reported outcome data in the clinical environment and the aggregation of data to assess organization/provider-level performance.

NQF is a voluntary consensus-based standards-setting organization that has endorsed more than 500 measures to date. NQF endorsement involves rigorous, evidence-based review and a formal consensus development process.

Press Ganey Associates, Inc.

Recognized as a leader in health care performance improvement for more than 25 years, Press Ganey partners with more than 10,000 organizations worldwide to create and sustain high performing organizations, and, ultimately, improve the overall health care experience. Press Ganey offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to help clients operate efficiently, improve quality, increase market share and optimize reimbursement. The company works with clients from across the continuum of care – hospitals, medical practices, home care agencies and other providers – including 50 percent of all U.S. hospitals. For more information, visit www.pressganey.com.

National Quality Forum

NQF operates under a three-part mission to improve the quality of American healthcare by: 

• Building consensus on national priorities and goals for performance improvement and working in partnership to achieve them;
• Endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance; and
• Promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.

SOURCE Press Ganey Associates, Inc.