Website Snapshots
Institute for Healthcare Improvement • http://www.ihi.org
Healthcare professionals and organizations interested in improving the way healthcare is provided are encouraged to visit the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) free website (www.ihi.org). The site provides programs, interactive tools, and links to books and articles designed to assist participants in measuring quality. Content Advisors, academicians, and physicians who are experts in their respective fields review and identify content and contribute their knowledge and experiences regarding quality improvement. Visitors can also view improvement reports from other organizations, create their own projects, and join in group discussions.
National Quality Forum • http://www.qualityforum.org
The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a nonprofit organization created to develop a standardized method for measuring and reporting quality in healthcare. Nonmember visitors of NQF’s website (www.qualityforum.org) have access to information regarding ongoing and completed projects, publications of relevance, news releases, and upcoming forums. Healthcare leaders are afforded with survival guides on key topics like pay for performance to help them better understand each issue and the current and future impacts they have in healthcare. Healthcare stakeholders interested in improving the quality of healthcare should visit this site and take advantage of the many resources provided therein.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality • http://www.ahrq.gov
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an extension of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has created a website (www.ahrq.gov) that provides healthcare organizations and practitioners with reliable quality measurement information. Visitors of the site can choose from an array of pertinent tools and resources located under the Quality Information and Improvement section that they can use to measure and compare their quality of healthcare. Research findings, data and survey results, links to other quality measuring websites, and case studies are also accessible.