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News Release

HHS TAKING STEPS TO ADDRESS GOALS FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Institute of Medicine Report on Quality Improvement Released

An initial analysis of recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its new report, "Leadership by Example: Coordinating Government Roles in Improving Health Care Quality," shows that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking steps to address a number of the goals for quality improvement outlined in the report.

"Since arriving at HHS, I have made improving quality and safety a high priority issue for the Department. We need to continually pursue innovative and cutting edge ideas to ensure that our health care system is the best it can be, whether it is better technologies or better information for patients," HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said.

"The report provides input on a number of emerging issues that can be of assistance to HHS and other federal agencies in implementing current and future activities to improve patients' quality of care," Thompson said.

The IOM report, prepared in response to a request from Congress, emphasizes the need for greater consistency in measuring the performance of health care providers across programs, ensuring that standards are valid and reliable, standardizing performance measures and reporting information to consumers in a way that will help them make better choices about their care -- all of which are priorities for HHS and other federal agencies involved in providing health care services.

"The IOM has taken a comprehensive look at how federal agencies can better work together to improve health care quality for all Americans," Thompson said. "We are pleased that we have a number of initiatives underway to increase the quality of health care in our programs."

"CMS' Medicare Quality Measurement Program is a prime example of how we are using a structure for supporting and promoting quality improvement by implementing measures for hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes, and dialysis facilities," Secretary Thompson added. "These measures are being coordinated with other groups, such as JCAHO, to minimize the burden on providers and maximize the impact these measures have on improving care."

Thompson also cited a number of other HHS programs as examples of how the Department is working to improve the process of measuring and reporting on health care quality, including:

• NIH's National Kidney Disease Education Program, under development by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, is a pilot program that targets African Americans at risk for kidney failure and their health care providers to implement appropriate prevention and management strategies, including the use of routine measurement of urine protein, a major risk factor for kidney disease, and use of ACE inhibitors for hypertension, a proven strategy in preventing progression of kidney disease.
• AHRQ's National Healthcare Quality Report to be issued in September 2003 that will report on health care quality nationwide and support the greater use of standard, shared, consistent performance measures.
• CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network, which is currently in development, will create a "knowledge system" for collecting and reporting data on health care quality, including links to guidelines and other educational materials, from among private and public stakeholders to support local and national efforts to promote health care safety.

In addition, the IOM report places an emphasis on the use of information technology and the development of an information technology infrastructure to achieve the goal of quality improvement. "I want to provide national leadership, working with our public and private sector partners, to promote the rapid development of the technology necessary for an Electronic Health Record and the infrastructure needed so that it can be used by the health care system. It will improve the quality and efficiency of health care, strengthen public health functions and help defend against bioterrorism," Thompson said.

"AHRQ and other agencies are playing vital roles in furthering the science of collecting and reporting information on quality," said acting agency director, Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "AHRQ's ongoing efforts to study how measures can be developed and reported in a way that makes the most sense to providers and patients alike is intended to provide a road map for how other measurement projects can go forward."

As with other IOM reports, the recommendations contained in "Leadership by Example" will be the basis for discussion within HHS and the federal Quality Interagency Coordination (QuIC) Task Force. The QuIC is comprised of representatives of all of the federal agencies with health care responsibilities. Since its creation in 1998, the QuIC has helped to ensure that quality improvement efforts are coordinated across the entire government.

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Last Revised: October 31, 2002