Development of national performance measures on the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a significant public health problem in the United States, particularly for hospitalized patients. Approximately two-thirds of all VTE events are associated with recent hospitalization. Despite the well-known risks of VTE, multiple studies have demonstrated underuse of VTE prophylaxis and clinicians often do not provide evidence-based care for those patients with confirmed VTE. In January 2005, the National Quality Forum initiated a project to develop national consensus standards on organization policies, preferred practices, and performance measures for the prevention and treatment of VTE. In addition to the organizational policy statement and 17 preferred practices, eight national performance measures addressing various aspects of VTE prevention and care have been endorsed. There is now a broad consensus on standardized measures of quality for the prevention and treatment of VTE, and a national commitment to collect and publicly report data on the quality of care for this important health problem.