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.
Current Resources
2024 AHA Quest for Quality Prize Winner
2024 AHA Quest for Quality Prize Winner Wellspan Health receiving their award at the AHA Leadership Summit.
AHA Quest for Quality Prize Committee Members
Additional Resources
News: Health Insurer Specialty Pharmacy Policies Threaten Patient Quality of Care
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
Explore Quality & Patient Safety Topics
Infection Control and Prevention
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) prevention and reduction are longstanding quality and patient safety priorities.
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 individuals achieve their highest potential for health. In particular, AHA is focusing on ensuring that everyone in the U.S. has access to the care they need when they need it, and that it is safely and efficiently delivered.
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, alongside police, fire, rescue, and other public safety services.
As hospitals' national voice, the AHA will support at the national level what our members will be working to achieve in their communities: the readiness of people and resources.
Read on for more.
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 inaccurate, misleading picture of hospital quality. That is why a majority of Congress urged CMS to delay the reporting of star ratings, and why the AHA and others have repeatedly urged CMS to suspend the reporting of overall star ratings until the methodology is improved.
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 improve compliance and contribute to a safer environment.
Read on for more.
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 establish procedures intended to ensure appropriate use of services. These include: