Related Resources

Links to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, programs, and initiatives focused on health care quality measurement and improvement. Links do not constitute endorsement of the linked organization or content. Please report broken links, or suggestions for new links, to snapshots@cmwf.org.
Commonwealth Fund Chartbooks on Quality of Health Care
Governmental Agencies and Programs
National Organizations and Initiatives
National Sources of Quality Data and Measures
State and Regional Organizations, Initiatives, and Data
International Agencies and Organizations
Commonwealth Fund Chartbooks on Quality of Health Care

Quality of Health Care in the United States (2002), http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=221238

Quality of Health Care for Children and Adolescents (2004), http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=225395

Quality of Health Care for Medicare Beneficiaries (2005), http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=275195

back to top>
Governmental Agencies and Programs

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, www.ahrq.gov

AHRQ Patient Safety Network, psnet.ahrq.gov

AHRQ Quality Tools and the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports, www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/

Bureau of Primary Care, Clinical Quality Improvement Initiatives, bphc.hrsa.gov/quality/default.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Quality of Care Center, www.cms.hhs.gov/center/quality.asp

Healthy People 2010, www.healthypeople.gov

Maternal and Child Health Bureau, mchb.hrsa.gov/

Medicare Health Plan Finder, Home Health Compare, Hospital Compare, and Nursing Home Compare (comparative quality measures), www.medicare.gov

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, www.medpac.gov

Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program, www.medqic.org

National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/naepp

National Blood Pressure Education Program, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/naepp

National Cancer Institute, Cancer Trends Progress Report, progressreport.cancer.gov/

National Center for Health Statistics, www.cdc.gov/nchs/

National Cholesterol Education Program, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/ncep/index.htm

National Diabetes Education Program, www.ndep.nih.gov/

National Guideline Clearinghouse, www.guideline.gov/

National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov

National Library of Medicine, www.nlm.nih.gov

Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force (QuIC), www.quic.gov/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), www.samhsa.gov

Veterans Administration Health Services Research and Development Service, www.hsrd.research.va.gov/

Veterans Administration National Center for Patient Safety, www.patientsafety.gov

back to top>
National Organizations and Initiatives

ABIM Foundation, www.abimfoundation.org

American Academy of Family Physicians, Clinical Quality Improvement Resources, www.aafp.org/online/en/home/practicemgt/quality.html

American Academy of Pediatrics, Education in Quality Improvement for Pediatric Practice, www.eqipp.org/

American College of Cardiology, Guidelines Applied in Practice (GAP) Program, http://www.acc.org/qualityandscience/gap/gap.htm

American College of Medical Quality, www.acmq.org

American College of Surgeons, National Surgical Care Improvement Program, https://acsnsqip.org

American Medical Association, Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2946.html

American Society for Quality, Healthcare Division, www.asq.org/healthcare/

Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, www.apic.org

Bridges to Excellence, www.bridgestoexcellence.org

Bright Futures for Infants, Children, and Adolescents, brightfutures.aap.org/web

Center for Children's Healthcare Improvement, www.childhealthimprovement.org

Center for Health Care Strategies, www.chcs.org

Center for Medical Consumers, www.medicalconsumers.org

Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, www.commonwealthfund.org/aboutus/aboutus_show.htm?doc_id=288639

Family Voices (Children with Special Health Care Needs), www.familyvoices.org

Health Disparities Collaboratives, www.healthdisparities.net/hdc/html/home.aspx

Healthy Steps for Young Children, www.healthysteps.org

Hospital Quality Alliance, www.aha.org/aha/key_issues/qualityalliance/index.html

Institute for Healthcare Improvement, www.ihi.org

Institute for Safe Medication Practices, www.ismp.org

Improving Chronic Illness Care, www.improvingchroniccare.org

Institute of Medicine, Healthcare Quality Resources, www.iom.edu/CMS/3718.aspx

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, www.jointcommission.org

Leapfrog Group, www.leapfroggroup.org

National Academy for State Health Policy, www.nashp.org

National Association for Healthcare Quality, www.nahq.org

National Committee for Quality Assurance, www.ncqa.org

National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, www.nccmerp.org

National Diabetes Quality Improvement Alliance, www.nationaldiabetesalliance.org

National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality, www.nichq.org

National Patient Safety Foundation, www.npsf.org

National Quality Forum, www.qualityforum.org/

National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Model Programs), http://modelprograms.samhsa.gov/template.cfm?page=default

Partnership for Prevention, www.prevent.org

Partnership for Solutions: Better Lives for People with Chronic Conditions, www.partnershipforsolutions.org

Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care, www.promotingexcellence.org

RAND Health, Quality of Care Resources, www.rand.org/health/researchareas/quality.html

Society of Thoracic Surgeons, National Outcomes Database, www.sts.org/sections/stsnationaldatabase/

Surgical Care Improvement Project, www.medqic.org/scip/

URAC (American Accreditation HealthCare Commission), www.urac.org

U.S. Pharmacopeia, Patient Safety Reporting Programs, www.usp.org/patientSafety/

Vermont Oxford Network, www.vtoxford.org

back to top>
National Sources of Quality Data and Measures

AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs), www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov

Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) Indicators, www.rand.org/health/projects/acove/quality_indicators.html

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), www.cdc.gov/brfss

Brown Atlas of Dying, www.chcr.brown.edu/dying/BROWNATLAS.HTM

Center for Quality Assessment and Improvement in Mental Health, National Inventory of Mental Health Quality Measures, www.cqaimh.org/quality.html

Child Trends Databank, www.childtrendsdatabank.org

Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Surveys, www.commonwealthfund.org/surveys/surveys.htm

Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Surveys, www.commonwealthfund.org/surveys/surveys.htm

Commonwealth Fund National Survey of Physicians and Quality of Care, www.commonwealthfund.org/surveys/surveys.htm

Community-Level Indicators for Understanding Health and Human Services Issues, aspe.hhs.gov/progsys/Community/index.html

Community Tracking Study (CTS), www.hschange.org/index.cgi?data=12

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), www.cahps.ahrq.gov/default.asp

Current Population Survey (CPS), www.bls.census.gov/cps/cpsmain.htm

Dartmouth Atlas Project, www.dartmouthatlas.org

Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, www.childhealthdata.org/content/Default.aspx

Health and Retirement Study (HRS), hrsonline.isr.umich.edu

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), hcup.ahrq.gov/HCUPnet.asp

HEDIS (Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set), www.ncqa.org/programs/hedis

HIVnet, www.ahrq.gov/data/hivnet.htm

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), www.meps.ahrq.gov/

Medicare Compare Downloadable Databases, www.medicare.gov/Download/DownloadDB.asp

Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), www.cms.hhs.gov/LimitedDataSets/11_MCBS.asp

Medicare Fee-for-Service Statistics, www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareFeeforSvcPartsAB/01_Overview.asp

Medicare Quality Monitoring System, www.cms.hhs.gov/QualityInitiativesGenInfo/15_MQMS.asp

Minimum Data Set (MDS) Nursing Home Quality Indicators, www.cms.hhs.gov/MinimumDataSets20/05_QualityIndicatorandResidentReports.asp

National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/ahcd/ahcd1.htm

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm

National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/hdasd/nhdsdes.htm

National Immunization Survey (NIS), www.cdc.gov/nis/

National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System (NNIS), www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/nnis.html

National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/slaits/cshcn.htm

National Survey of Children's Health, www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/slaits/cshcn.htm

National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), www.drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov/nhsda.htm

National Survey of Early Childhood Health, www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/slaits/nsech.htm

National Quality Measures Clearinghouse, www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov

National Vital Statistics System, www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm

Outcomes and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) for Home Health Care, www.cms.hhs.gov/OASIS

Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement Quality Measures, www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/4837.html

RAND Quality of Care Assessment Tools, www.rand.org/health/surveys_tools/qatools/index.html

SAMHSA National Outcomes Measures, www.nationaloutcomemeasures.samhsa.gov

State Cancer Profiles (National Cancer Institute), statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov

Studying and Tracking Early Child Development from a Health Perspective: A Review of Available Data Sources, www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=354865

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, seer.cancer.gov

Tobacco Use Supplement (TUS) to the Current Population Survey, riskfactor.cancer.gov/studies/tus-cps

Trends on Aging and Health (National Center for Health Statistics), www.cdc.gov/nchs/agingact.htm

United States Renal Data System, www.usrds.org

back to top>
State and Regional Organizations, Initiatives, and Data

Buyers Health Care Action Group, Minnesota Health Plan Comparison Report, www.bhcag.com

California HealthCare Foundation, www.chcf.org

California Office of the Patient Advocate, HMO Report Card and Medical Group Ratings, opa.ca.gov/report_card

California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, The California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery, www.oshpd.ca.gov

Employer Health Care Alliance (Wisconsin), QualityCounts Report, www.qualitycounts.org

Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, FloridaHealthStat, www.floridahealthstat.com

HealthCare 21 Business Coalition (Tennessee), Hospital and Health Plan Report Cards, www.hc21.org

Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (Minnesota), www.icsi.org/index.asp

Integrated Healthcare Association (California), Pay-for-Performance Initiative, www.iha.org/p4py4.htm

Maine Health Management Coalition, Hospital and Doctor Ratings, www.mhmc.info

Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, www.macoalition.org

Massachusetts Data Access Center (cardiac surgery outcomes reports), www.massdac.org/

Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Quality and Cost Information, www.mass.gov/healthcareqc

Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, Clinical Quality and Patient Experiences in Primary Care Medical Groups, www.mhqp.org

Michigan Hospital Association, Keystone Center for Patient Safety & Quality, http://www.mha.org/mha/keystone/index.jsp

Minnesota Department of Health, Adverse Events in Minnesota, www.health.state.mn.us/patientsafety

New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Health Care Quality and Oversight (Hospital and HMO Performance Reports, Surgery Reports), www.state.nj.us/health/hcsa/hmomenu.htm

New York State Department of Health, Center for Consumer Health Care Information (Physician, Hospital, Nursing Home, Health Plan, and Cardiac Surgery Reports), www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/healthinfo

Niagara Health Quality Coalition, New York State Hospital Report Card, www.nhqc.com

Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group, www.nnecdsg.org

Pacific Business Group on Health, www.pbgh.org

Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, www.psa.state.pa.us/psa/site/default.asp

Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, Hospital Performance Reports and Quality of Commercial HMOs report, www.phc4.org

Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative, Perfecting Patient Care System, www.prhi.org

Texas Health Care Information Collection, Indicators of Inpatient Care in Texas Hospitals and Guide to HMO Quality, www.dshs.state.tx.us/thcic

Utah Health Data Committee, Hospital and Health Plan Performance Reports, health.utah.gov/had

Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, www.med.uvm.edu/vchip

Virginia Health Information, HMO Quality Information, www.vhi.org

back to top>
International Agencies and Organizations

Australian Department of Health and Ageing, www.health.gov.au

Canadian Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/13733.html

German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen), www.iqwig.de/index.2.en.html

Health Foundation (United Kingdom) Quest for Quality and Improved Performance, www.health.org.uk/qquip

International Healthy Cities Foundation, www.healthycities.org

International Society for Quality in Health Care, www.isqua.org.au

Joint Commission International Center on Patient Safety (World Health Organization Collaborating Centre), www.jcipatientsafety.org

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, www.oecd.org

United Kingdom's Department of Health, www.dh.gov.uk

United Kingdom's National Institute for Clinical Excellence, www.nice.org.uk

United Kingdom's Institute for Innovation and Improvement, www.institute.nhs.uk/

United Kingdom's Healthcare Commission, www.healthcarecommission.org.uk

World Health Organization, www.who.int

back to top>