National Quality Measures Compared to Achievable Benchmarks

The NHQR quality measures are compared to achievable benchmarks, which are derived from the top-performing States. Better performance of a State can mean higher or lower values of a measure, depending on the desired outcome. For example, low values are desirable for measures such as infant mortality, whereas high values are desirable for measures such as preventative screening. The categories of achievement have been standardized across the measure definitions so that:

Far away from benchmark - the value for a measure has not achieved 50% of the benchmark.

Close to benchmark - the value for a measure is between 50% and 90% of a benchmark (i.e., worse than the benchmark but has achieved at least half of the benchmark but not as much as 90% of a benchmark).

Achieved benchmark or better - the value for a measure is no worse than 90% of the benchmark value, the measure has achieved the benchmark. This category also includes the case in which the measure’s value is equal to or better than the benchmark.

All Measures

Select any summary bar to review the list of measures and supporting data.

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Benchmarks are available for 146 measures including 28 measures that are far away from the benchmark, 61 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 57 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.
Benchmarks are unavailable for 142 measures (49 percent of all possible measures).

Review underlying data

The National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) focuses on “prevailing disparities in health care delivery as it relates to racial factors and socioeconomic factors in priority populations” (42 U.S.C. 299a-1(a)(6)). Therefore, data summaries are provided below to facilitate comparison of these factors. Links to summaries of all individual quality measures are available in the National View banner above.

Measures by Race and Ethnicity

Select any summary bar to review the list of measures and supporting data.

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Benchmarks for Whites are available for 146 measures including 22 measures that are far away from the benchmark, 65 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 59 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.
Benchmarks for Blacks are available for 146 measures including 39 measures that are far away from the benchmark, 47 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 60 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.
Benchmarks for Hispanics are available for 146 measures including 26 measures that are far away from the benchmark, 53 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 67 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.
Benchmarks for Asian Pacific Islanders are available for 141 measures including 14 measures that are far away from the benchmark, 54 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 73 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.

Measures by Community Income

Select any summary bar to review the list of measures and supporting data.

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Benchmarks for People with Low Incomes are available for 29 measures including 1 measure that is far away from the benchmark, 15 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 13 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.
Benchmarks for People with High Incomes are available for 29 measures including 1 measure that is far away from the benchmark, 8 measures that are close to the benchmark, and 20 measures that achieved the benchmark or better.