Useful Resources
Health Care Quality: How to Measure?
November 09, 2009
In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published a seminal report, "To Err is Human," sparking a movement to improve the quality of health care in the United States. The report concluded that at least 44,000 people - and possibly as many as 98,000 - die in hospitals annually from preventable medical errors. In the last decade, patient safety advocates and governments have promoted increased transparency about hospital infection rates and overall safety performance. In addition, many Web sites, including several operated by the federal and state governments, now allow consumers to compare hospitals based on various quality indicators and mortality measures. Patient safety and quality experts say, however, that the science behind measuring quality is still in its infancy. Consequently, proponents and critics can be found for nearly every comparison system and proposed standard. Updated March 2010
Resource Links
Blogs
Hosted by IPRO, a non-profit health care quality improvement organization, and updated by Jaz-Michael King, who directs health care transparency for the group, which tracks health care reports on quality, pricing and consumer satisfaction.
Avery Comarow, the magazine's editor of the America's Best Hospitals annual rankings since in 1990, blogs on hospital quality issues.
This collection of blogs, assembled by the New America Foundation, often deals with health quality issues.
Written by a physician, Dr. Bob Wachter, and focusing on patient safety, quality and other health care issues.
Frank, fascinating blog by Paul Levy, president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Among the issues he deals with is health care quality.
Guidance for Consumers
This consumer-oriented health site has a section dedicated to helping patients choose a hospital.
One of the many for-profit online companies that rate doctors. These sites are controversial because there is little agreement on the metrics they use to make comparisons and rankings.
This Web site is dedicated to helping people learn about health care and medical conditions, including a tool to help them select hospitals based on various quality measures.
Advocacy
This Boston-based institute works with hospitals nationwide to improve performance on specific procedures that have proven to save lives.
Public Policy
This nonprofit private-public partnership brings together a broad spectrum of health care stakeholders to set national priorities and goals related to health care quality.
This independent agency serves as a "Congressional watchdog" to monitor how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. The GAO issues frequent reports on health care quality.
This federal Web site allows users to compare hospitals based on how well they performed on various health performance measures, such as treating patients for heart attack and pneumonia.
Statistics, Trends and Research
This nonpartisan foundation is underwriting a $3 million initiative to improve U.S. health care quality.
This nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank publishes many studies on patient safety and health care quality.
This leading health journal publishes important and relevant research by leading experts on the quality of health care in the U.S.
This federal agency is dedicated exclusively to improving the quality of U.S. health care.
This interactive Web site, operated by the Dartmouth School of Medicine, allows users to compare hospitals based on how well they performed on various health performance measures, such as treating patients for heart attack and pneumonia.
WHO's site has a section on health systems around the world, including information on the quality of care.
Understanding Health Care Quality
A private organization that inspects and accredits hospitals that meet its quality criteria. In the past, the Commission has been criticized for being too lenient.
The Institute is the pre-eminent U.S. organization for information on health care quality and patient safety. The Institute's report, "Quality Chasm," is a good source of statistics.
