We want to recognize offices that have demonstrated a dedication to high-quality patient care by achieving the highest rank in quality of care for the HMO and/or PPO component of the Quality Incentive Payment System (QIPS) program or the Preventive and Quality Improvement Program (PQIP) for measurement year 2016. The quality program is a comprehensive ranking system of quality measures for primary care offices with 150 or more commercial HMO/POS and Medicare Advantage HMO members and/or 250 or more attributed commercial PPO members (including National BlueCard^® PPO and Personal Choice^® PPO members).

The below preventive care measures are the areas in which each office is measured. They are based on the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®), a well-established and tested set of performance measures:

• childhood and adolescent immunizations;
• childhood and adolescent well visits;
• cancer prevention in the areas of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings;
• heart care (beta-blocker treatment after a heart attack);
• asthma care (use of preferred medications for patients with chronic persistent asthma);
• diabetic care (HbA1c testing, HbA1c control, LDL-C screening, eye exam rates, and nephropathy screening);
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care (use of spirometry testing in assessing and diagnosing);
• rheumatoid arthritis care (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy);
• fracture care (osteoporosis management in women);
• avoidance of antibiotic treatment in adults with acute bronchitis;
• appropriate testing for children with pharyngitis;
• appropriate treatment for children with upper respiratory infection.

HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Used with permission.