AHRQ: Quality Indicators Learning Institute
To provide a forum for discussing and facilitating the use of the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs) in statewide and regional programs that report hospital quality measures to the public.
Disclaimer and Constraints: The intent of the AHRQ Quality Indicators Learning Institute is to promote open discussions and interactions among program leaders, policymakers, researchers, and other experts involved in developing public reporting systems. Participants may not sell or solicit commercial products or services during these AHRQ-sponsored learning sessions.
Leaders (or their representatives, including project staff and consultants) from State agencies/task forces, State hospital associations and/or coalitions that are directly involved with developing public reporting programs. The QI Learning Institute aims to help those responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the programs.
The Learning Institute will run through June 2009. The atmosphere will be collaborative, sharing questions and information on promising practices. Members are expected to contribute to activities such as Webinars, conference calls, Web discussions, and possibly in-person meetings.
The Learning Institute includes an ongoing Web-based forum where members can discuss related topics with other participants and QI experts and share relevant documents and resource links on public reporting with each other.
Due to the great interest in the Learning Institute and a maximum of 250 participants, interested parties are being asked to apply for membership. We may need to limit the number of persons in order to involve as many eligible programs as possible.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the AHRQ QI Learning Institute, send an E-mail to: QualityIndicatorsLearning@ahrq.hhs.gov with the subject heading "Application Information for the QI Learning Institute."
The "Introduction to the AHRQ QI Learning Institute" Webinar was held on July 30, 2008. To access the slide presentation and the Webinar transcript, please visit http://www.ahrq.gov/qilearninginstitute/.
The Webinar "AHRQ Quality Indicators 101: Background and Introduction to the AHRQ QIs" was held on September 17, 2008. To access the slide presentation and the Webinar transcript, please visit http://www.ahrq.gov/qilearninginstitute/.
To stay informed on the latest developments and future activities, please visit http://www.ahrq.gov/qilearninginstitute/ and subscribe to the e-mail list.
The AHRQ QIs are health care quality measures that are widely used to highlight potential health care quality concerns, identify areas that need further study and investigation, and track changes over time. In recent years, they have been increasingly used as part of statewide hospital-level public reporting efforts. At least 12 statewide or regional public reporting programs currently use the AHRQ QIs to help consumers better assess hospital performance. In May 2008, the National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed many of the AHRQ QIs for hospital-level public reporting.
To learn more about the QIs, go to: http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov.
