Directory of Organizations Cited
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or (CDC), is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Its mission is to collaborate with its partners to create the expertise, information and tools that people and communities need to protect their health - through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability and preparedness for new health threats.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
In 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services and CMS began quality initiatives to improve health care for all Americans through accountability and public disclosure.
Some of these quality initiatives focus on publicly reporting quality measures for nursing homes, home health agencies, hospitals and kidney dialysis facilities. Consumers can use the quality measures information that is available on www.cms.hhs.gov to assist them in making health care choices or decisions.
The Colorado Hospital Association, or CHA, represents all types of hospitals in Colorado - public and private, profit and non-profit, metropolitan and rural. CHA services to its member hospitals include statewide databases, educational programming, financial expertise and advocacy.
The CHA also sponsors the Colorado Hospital Report Card, which makes statewide hospital data and clinical outcomes available to the general public. The Colorado Hospital Report Card uses standardized quality and clinical outcome measures that are endorsed by national organizations with established standards to measure the performance of health care providers and hospitals. The goal of the report card is to promote accountability for hospital practices and development of quality improvement initiatives to improve health care in Colorado.
The Leapfrog Group, or Leapfrog, is an organization composed of corporate and public institutions and agencies, such as Marriott International, Chrysler and FedEx Corporation, that purchase health care benefits for their employees and others. Members of the Leapfrog Group seek to mobilize their members' purchasing power to recognize and reward health care safety, quality and customer value. The Leapfrog Group also promotes making health care information accessible to the public and rewarding hospitals that have a proven record of high quality care.
Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS, is a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients' perspectives of hospital care.
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), another agency in the Department of Health and Human Services.
In May 2005, the HCAHPS survey was endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF), a not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting. In December 2005, the federal Office of Management and Budget gave its final approval for the national implementation of HCAHPS for public reporting purposes. HCAHPS has also been endorsed by the Hospital Quality Alliance, a public-private collaboration including hospitals, health professionals, government agencies, quality experts, purchasers and consumer groups, among others, that seeks to make information about hospital performance accessible to the public and to encourage efforts to improve quality.
The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization's commitment to meeting certain performance standards. If you have any concerns about the quality of care at one of our hospitals, you may contact the Joint Commission.
|
