Testing Chronic Skin Condition Quality Measures for the American Academy Of Dermatology

Chronic skin diseases, such as psoriasis, dermatitis, acne, vitiligo, urticaria, and rosacea, are among the most common health problems in the United States and worldwide. More than 80 million Americans—one in four—are affected by skin diseases, costing the U.S. health care system $75 billion in medical, preventative, and prescription and nonprescription drug costs. Chronic skin conditions are a considerable burden on patients, their families, and society. They may lead to comorbidities such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral health issues, including depression, anxiety, and suicide. In acknowledgement of the pressing issues dermatology patients face, as well as the changing policy environment around specialty-specific value-based care measures, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) developed three clinical quality measures to assess the quality of the delivery of care, patients’ engagement in care delivery, and patients’ functional status and quality of life.

Mathematica successfully tested three psoriasis and chronic skin condition quality measures, including a patient-reported quality-of-life measure, that were developed through the AAD’s measure development process. The measures were tested for feasibility, usability, validity, and reliability using data collected from test sites and AAD’s DataDerm registry.