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Making Progress: AHRQ Report Details Quality of Health Care in America

The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR), developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, represents the first national comprehensive effort to measure the quality of health care in America.

The report presents data on the quality of services for seven clinical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, end-stage renal disease, heart disease, HIV and AIDS, mental health, and respiratory disease. It also includes data on maternal and child health, nursing home and home health care, and patient safety.

In this first annual release of the NHQR, the authors conclude: “We are making progress, we can improve, and we can do more.”

In many areas, the report shows that the health care system is performing very well. For example:

• Quality of care has markedly improved—for measures that have trend data, 20 of 57 areas have improved over time.

• The vast majority of patients are getting the care they need in many areas. For people with diabetes, most have their blood sugar and cholesterol levels checked. Seniors receive influenza immunization at very high rates.

• For diabetic patients, there are fewer unnecessary admissions to the hospital. In nursing homes, progress has been made in reducing use of physical restraints. In patient safety, there has been significant progress in reducing infection rates in certain types of hospital intensive care units.

The authors indicate that the primary role of the report is to provide the data and information that can tell us how the Nation’s health care system is performing in terms of quality of care. They conclude by saying, “The hope is that this information will be used to help focus efforts to change health care quality for the better. In this way, the report, as an ongoing tracking tool, will provide the foundation for the translation of research into action and practice.”

For more information, read the National Healthcare Quality Report.

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