Supplement: The OECD Health Care Quality Indicators Project

Supplement

This supplement of the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is devoted to the Health Care Quality Indicators (HCQI) Project. Run by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the HCQI Project is the only international, multicondition project examining quality measurement and improvement issues. AHRQ has provided ongoing technical guidance and leadership on this effort since 2001.

This supplement presents eight articles written by international leaders in the field of quality measurement. The OECD brought them together to guide development of a conceptual framework for the HCQI Project as well as develop a set of 85 indicators across 5 priority condition areas. This framework and these indicators will serve as the basis for the Project's work on improving data systems and tracking quality of care for many years. The supplement concludes with a look forward at improving international quality measurement and reporting over the long term. By special arrangement with Oxford University Press, these articles are being made available on the AHRQ Web site.

This supplement was also supported by the National Center for Health Statistics. In addition, ongoing support for the HCQI Project is provided by the European Commission and the Commonwealth Fund, a national, private foundation based in New York City that supports independent research on health and social issues. Technical and project leadership by AHRQ and these partners has helped ensure a solid foundation for the HCQI Project and its goal of developing indicators and data systems that can be used to raise questions on quality of care internationally.

Copyright © 2006, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, Volume 18, Supplement 1. Linked with permission from Oxford University Press.

Contents

The OECD Health Care Quality Indicators Project: history and background
Soeren Mattke, Arnold M. Epstein, and Sheila Leatherman

A conceptual framework for the OECD Health Care Quality Indicators Project
Onyebuchi A. Arah, Gert P. Westert, Jeremy Hurst, and Niek S. Klazinga

Selecting indicators for patient safety at the health system level in OECD countries
Vivienne McLoughlin, John Millar, Soeren Mattke, Margarida Franca, Pia Maria Jonsson, David Somekh, and David Bates

OECD Health Care Quality Indicator Project. The expert panel on primary care prevention and health promotion
Martin Marshall, Niek Klazinga, Sheila Leatherman, Charlie Hardy, Eckhard Bergmann, Luis Pisco, Soeren Mattke, and Jan Mainz

Selecting indicators for the quality of diabetes care at the health systems level in OECD countries
Antonio Nicolucci, Sheldon Greenfield, and Soeren Mattke

Quality indicators for international benchmarking of mental health care
Richard C. Hermann, Soeren Mattke, David Somekh, Helena Silfverhielm, Elliot Goldner, Gyles Glover, Jane Pirkis, Jan Mainz, and Jeffrey A. Chan

Selecting indicators for the quality of cardiac care at the health system level in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries
Ulla M. Idänpään-Heikkilä, Laura Lambie, Soeren Mattke, Vin McLaughlin, Heather Palmer, and Jack V. Tu

Beyond the initial indicators: lessons from the OECD Health Care Quality Indicators Project and the U.S. National Healthcare Quality Report
Edward T. Kelley, Irma Arispe, and Julia Holmes

More Information

For questions regarding the HCQI Project, contact Jeff Brady, M.D., M.P.H., Acting Director for the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports (Jeff.Brady@ahrq.hhs.gov).