Background

In early 1999, the Joint Commission solicited input from a wide variety of stakeholders (e.g., clinical professionals, health care provider organizations, state hospital associations, health care consumers and convened a Pregnancy and Related Conditions Clinical Advisory Panel about the potential focus areas for core measures for hospitals.

Pregnancy and related conditions was one of the initial priority focus areas for hospital core measure development identified by key Joint Commission stakeholders. Maternal mortality and morbidity as well as fetal and infant deaths are of continuing concern, along with associated conditions such as preterm births and birth defects.

The Joint Commission’s pregnancy advisory panel articulated the clinical logic that provided the framework for identifying inter-related, evidence-based measures that, when used together, can more fully assess the overall quality of care provided for patients with pregnancy related conditions. All three measures in the Pregnancy and Related Conditions Core Measure Set can be primarily derived from administrative data and have been field tested in conjunction with the National Perinatal Information Center (NPIC) using its trend database to analyze the measures. This testing permitted refinement respecting the measures and provided information pertinent to risk adjustment models.

Hospital PR Core Measures – Initial Release
The following three measures comprise the initial set of hospital Pregnancy and Related Conditions implemented on July 1, 2002. These measures are currently in use.
 • PR-1 VBAC
 • PR-2 Inpatient neonatal mortality
 • PR-3 Third or fourth degree laceration

Important Information

Plans to revise this set are currently under way. Information regarding new or revised measures will be posted when available.

Where to find the Pregnancy and Related Conditions Core Measure Set

The Pregnancy and Related Conditions measures can be found in the Specification Manual for National Hospital Quality Measures