Quality Measures for Anticoagulation Care

<b>Objective:</b> To systematically identify and assess current quality measures for anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism (VTE) treatment and surgical VTE prophylaxis. <b>Research Design and Methods:</b> Fifteen quality measure websites were searched as were bibliographic databases (January 2000-February 2016). Quality measures were included if developed in the United States and incorporated an aspect of anticoagulation for the aforementioned indications or if applicable but not indication specific (non-disease specific measure). Two reviewers independently extracted data regarding the characteristics of each quality measure. <b>Results:</b> Thirty-five measures were identified, mostly in VTE treatment (58.6%), followed by non-disease specific measures (25.7%), AF (17.6%) and surgical VTE prophylaxis (8.8%). Process measures predominated (82.9%). A majority of quality measures (65.7%) were focused on parenteral anticoagulants or warfarin and not applicable to novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs). Ten (28.6%) measures are used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or as a core measure of The Joint Commission. Limitations include the inability to statistically pool data and possible publication bias given the nature of databases for quality measures. <b>Conclusions:</b> Quality measures are recognized in anticoagulation care. Areas for improvement include expanding beyond process measures and capturing adverse events and the advantages offered by NOACs.