Medicare established the Quality Improvement System for Managed Care to ensure accountability in terms of what?

The correct choice highlights that the Quality Improvement System for Managed Care (QISMC) was established by Medicare to ensure accountability through measurable standards. This system is vital in assessing and improving the quality of care provided by managed care organizations. By setting measurable standards, Medicare can track the performance of these organizations and ensure that they meet certain quality thresholds, which directly affects patient care and outcomes.

Measurable standards allow for clear benchmarks to be established—these benchmarks facilitate the evaluation of whether care delivery aligns with Medicare’s objectives for quality and efficiency. This focus not only supports better health outcomes for beneficiaries but also encourages managed care organizations to continually enhance their service delivery.

While surveys, accreditation, and capitation are all significant aspects of health care quality and management, they do not encapsulate the broader goal of establishing direct accountability through clear, quantifiable metrics as effectively as measurable standards do. Surveys may collect information about patient satisfaction and experiences, accreditation involves meeting specific criteria set by accrediting bodies, and capitation refers to a payment model rather than a method for ensuring accountability or quality. Therefore, the emphasis on measurable standards is what fundamentally supports the goals of the QISMC within Medicare's quality improvement efforts.