Performance measures for comprehensive stroke certification finalized.

missioners approved a final set of standardized performance measures for the Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) advanced certification program. The comprehensive stroke (CSTK) measures are designed to evaluate the management of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients in hospitals equipped with the clinical expertise, infrastructure, and specialized neurointerventional and imaging services needed to provide the next level of stroke care. Data collection for the eight measures in the CSTK measure set (see table below, first column) will be mandatory effective January 1, 2015, for all currently CSC-certified programs as well as those seeking initial certification. Please note that data for the CSTK measures must be collected in addition to the eight stroke (STK) core measures (see table below, second column) already required for comprehensive stroke center certification. The CSTK measure set includes two clinical outcome measures: CSTK-05 and CSTK-08. For accurate and meaningful comparative data, outcome measures should be risk adjusted. The Joint Commission will develop a risk adjustment model for the CSTK outcome measures based on the results of a pilot test conducted last year as well as ongoing data collection. The Joint Commission has created an implementation guide detailing measure specifications for the eight CSTK measures. The “Comprehensive Stroke (CSTK) Performance Measurement Implementation Guide” is available on The Joint Commission website at http://www.jointcommission .org/certification/advanced_certification_comprehensive_ stroke_centers.aspx. Questions about these measures may be sent via the Performance Measurement Network Q&A Forum at https://manual.jointcommission.org. P Performance Measures for Comprehensive Stroke Certification Finalized