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The National Quality Forum has endorsed the “Gains in Patient Activation (PAM) Scores at 12 Months” as a Patient & Family Centered Care measure. The PAM is a 10- or 13-item assessment that allows providers to assess a patient’s knowledge and confidence in managing their health.

Low-activated individuals (PAM levels 1 and 2) are at significantly greater risk for poor health outcomes and higher utilization than those higher in activation (PAM levels 3 and 4), Insignia Health noted. As PAM scores rise, there is a reduced likelihood of hospitalization.

“Like the NQF, Insignia Health strongly supports person-centered healthcare as critical to reducing costs and improving the quality of care, especially as we transform from a fee-for-service healthcare environment to one that is more value-based. This endorsement recognizes what over a decade of PAM research has shown, that as activation scores increase, improvements in self-management, health outcomes and cost savings are realized,” commented Insignia Health CEO Chris Delaney.

Portland, OR-based Insignia Health created PAM as a “predictive powerhouse backed by over a decade of health activation research and insight gained from supporting hospitals, health systems, health plans, life science firms and government agencies around the globe.”