Evaluation of the Use of AHRQ and Other Quality Indicators, Table 3.1

Table 3.1. Developers of Quality Indicators and Comparison with AHRQ QIs

Developer	Indicators	Similarities to AHRQ QIs	Differences from AHRQ QIs
JCAHO CMS HQA	Core Measures Hospital Quality Indicators	National standard	Process measures Clinical data Implemented through licensed vendors
The Leapfrog Group	Leapfrog Leaps	National standard Some outcomes indicators	Collected through survey Mostly structure and process measures
Institute for Healthcare Improvement	Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratios	Outcomes indicator (risk-adjusted mortality)	Mortality not condition-specific Used in conjunction with specific quality improvement program
States (e.g., PA and CA)	PA Health Care Cost Containment Council Hospital Performance Report Indicators CA Healthcare Quality and Analysis Division Indicators	Outcomes indicators Administrative data	Uses data elements not available in administrative data in most states
Vendors	Various	Administrative data Some outcomes indicators	Methodology often not transparent

Source: RAND analysis of environmental scan results.
Note: Indicators were judged to be a "national standard" if they were described that way by any of the study's interviewees.

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