Part of the public hospital mission has always been to provide safe, high quality health care to all patients regardless of ability to pay. As reimbursement becomes linked to performance, quality of care increasingly has a critical financial implication for all hospitals. Moreover, as hospital data is posted for key quality indicators on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)’s “Hospital Compare” Web site, hospital quality has never been more public. NAPH has recognized this changing landscape and made quality and patient safety a priority under its current strategic plan.
NAPH uses the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) definition of quality and its six aims for improvement as context for research and educational activities on behalf of our members. Continue Reading