2010 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports

For the eighth year in a row, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has produced the National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR). These reports measure trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care. New this year are chapters on care coordination, health system infrastructure. The reports present, in chart form, the latest available findings on quality of and access to health care.

The National Healthcare Quality Report tracks the health care system through quality measures, such as the percentage of heart attack patients who received recommended care when they reached the hospital or the percentage of children who received recommended vaccinations. The National Healthcare Disparities Report summarizes health care quality and access among various racial, ethnic, and income groups and other priority populations, such as residents of rural areas and people with disabilities.

The reports have been revised based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine that can be found in their report, Future Directions for the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports.

Note: The Highlights of the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports is available as a separate document from AHRQ's Publications Clearinghouse. The publication number is 11-0004-1.