As the U.S. health care system intensifies its focus on quality measures to inform key policy decisions, the physical therapy profession is increasingly finding itself at the table for important discussions on issues including which measures to use, which could be dropped, and how measures will be adopted and monitored. Several APTA members will now be contributing to those discussions.

Marissa Carvalho, PT, DPT; Ronald Langham PT, MBA; Lori Pearlmutter, PT, MPH; and APTA Vice President of Practice Anita Bemis-Dougherty PT, DPT, MAS,  have been appointed to the Battelle Partnership for Quality Measurement's Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review Committees, which provide recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the selection of quality and efficiency measures under consideration for use by the department, including within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Payment Program.

Langham will also serve on the Measure Set Review Committee responsible for making recommendations on the removal of measures from the Medicare quality program. APTA Senior Payment Specialist Alice Bell, PT, DPT, will serve on the Cost and Efficiency Committee, which focuses on the endorsement and maintenance of quality performance measures.

Battelle took over as CMS' contracted "consensus-based entity" to oversee endorsement and maintenance of quality measures in late March 2023, a role that was previously contracted to the National Quality Forum.

And in more good news for the profession: APTA member Kathleen Picard, PT, DPT, has been appointed to the nominating committee for appointments to the American Medical Association's Health Care Professionals Advisory Committee, known as HCPAC. In her new role, Picard will participate in reviewing and recommending a slate of HCPAC Advisor candidates for the HCPAC Editorial Panel for consideration by the AMA Board of Trustees. That panel plays a key role in the development and maintenance of current procedural terminology codes. In addition to her new role, Picard continues to serve as a CPT advisor.