Moving Forward with Quality Improvement

The National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report present important information about the state of health care in America. These reports indicate that:

• Quality is improving in many areas, but change takes time.
• The gap between the best possible care and actual care remains large.
• Quality of care varies widely across the country.
• Continuing improvement in health care is possible.

People like you have an important role to play in health care quality improvement. You can use the measures described in this booklet as a yardstick to assess the quality of care provided to you and your family members.

In addition, many public and private groups are working to improve health care quality measures and other quality tools. The goal is to make these measures and tools reliable, uniform, and helpful to consumers and patients in making health care choices.

Select for a resource list to find out how you can get more information about health care quality and what you can do to ensure you get the best quality care possible.

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