Quality & Patient Safety

Hospitals engage in an array of collaborative activities designed to improve the quality and safety of the care they provide. The increasing amount of credible and actionable information that has become available through public reporting efforts has helped spur improvements.

While it is worth celebrating the improvements in patient safety and quality, such as reductions in hospital-acquired infections and early elective deliveries, it also is imperative that hospitals continue to strive for better performance. Public policies can further facilitate or impede hospitals’ efforts to improve quality, which is why the AHA and its member hospitals work closely with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Quality Forum, The Joint Commission and other national accreditation bodies.

As hospitals and health systems continue to look for ways to advance quality of care while lowering costs, the AHA has taken a leadership role in supplying information to hospitals to help them further improve the work they do. Read on to find out more.

The 2022 Quest for Quality Award Honorees

The American Hospital Association Quest for Quality Prize recognizes health care leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health in communities. The honorees for 2022 excelled in delivering quality health care for their communities during the most difficult of times. The American Hospital Association (AHA) today announced that University Hospitals, a comprehensive health system with more than 20 hospitals, 50+ health centers and more than 200 physician offices serving northern Ohio, has been named the 2022 recipient of the American Hospital Association Quest for Quality Prize, WellSpan Health and Ochsner Medical Center will be honored as finalists while NorthShore University HealthSystem will receive the Citation of Merit.. The award, supported by a grant from RLDatix, was presented during the AHA Leadership Summit. For more information, visit www.aha.org/about/awards/quest-for-quality.

Resources

News: CMS Extends Deadline to Submit Certain Medicare Quality Data, Attest to Interoperability

White Papter: CMS Grants Certain Quality Reporting Exceptions for Hurricane Ida

News: Health Insurer Specialty Pharmacy Policies Threaten Patient Quality of Care

Modernizing the HCAHPS Survey: Recommendations from Patient Experience Leaders

TrendWatch: Aligning Efforts to Improve Quality

TrendWatch Executive Summary: Aligning Efforts to Improve Quality

TrendWatch Infographic: Aligning Efforts to Improve Quality

Podcast: Insurers’ “White Bagging” Drug Policy Threatens Patient Safety

Reducing Health Care Disparities

Research has shown that individuals of color, of various ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, or with limited English proficiency have less access to care, receive different care and often have worse health than those who are white. AHA and its members strive to help all ...

Emergency Readiness

Hospitals have increasingly stepped up their readiness efforts in order to be better prepared in responding to disasters and mass casualty events of any scope, including disasters both natural and man-made. As vital community resources, hospitals must be among the best prepared, alongs...

Quality Measurement & Star Ratings

The AHA has long supported transparency and continues to share the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' goal of making the data on Hospital Compare easier for consumers to understand. However, CMS’s flawed approach to star ratings undermines this goal by providing an inaccurat...

Standards, Surveys, Accreditation

The AHA supports recent changes to the Medicare Conditions of Participation, as well as important updates related to Joint Commission accreditation. We have also advocated for more clarity in the interpretation of standards, as well as a less burdensome CMS survey process that could imp...

Appropriate Use of Medical Resources

The AHA white paper, Appropriate Use of Medical Resources, examines the drivers of health care costs and contributing factors. We identify a “top five” list of hospital-based procedures or interventions for which the hospital and the medical staff should craft policies and establis...