National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
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- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
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- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
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Key Drivers
Change Strategies
EvidenceNOW: Tools and Resources
The Agency for Healthcare and Quality (AHRQ) offers practical, research-based tools and other resources to help a variety of health care origanizations, provider, and others make care safer in all health care settings. AHRQ's evidence-based tools and resources are used by organizations nationwide to improve the quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care. Improving health care quality by increasing the capacity of small primary care practices to implement the best clinical evidence is our aim. These tools and resources can be searched by the key drivers and the change strategies of the EvidenceNOW Key Driver Diagram.
Results
21 to 30 of 40 Tools and Resources DisplayedThis implementation guide by the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative addresses why care teams are important for improving patient care and ways to build an effective care team that meets patients’ needs and expectations.
This tool describes why and how you would use a driver diagram (also known as a key driver diagram) at different stages of the quality improvement (QI) process. The tool helps organize change concepts and ideas as a QI Team answers the question, "What changes can we make that will result in an improvement?"
This tool helps quality improvers write SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited global and specific) aims statements.
This template helps quality improvers develop key driver diagrams that identify the key drivers that will help them achieve their improvement goals, as well as change ideas – the specific actions that support each key driver.
In this podcast, Jim Campbell, MD, explores practical tools for implementing quality improvement activities and creating and sustaining a culture of quality in your organization.
Based on Lean structured problem-solving methods, this tool uses root cause analysis, diagramming process changes, and measuring implementation progress and effectiveness of changes to help primary care practices maximize efficiency and good outcomes.
This primer includes short descriptions of the following continuous quality improvement (QI) approaches: Model for Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, and the Baldridge Quality Model.
This tool provides a sample protocol for assigning new patients to primary care providers to maintain an organized patient panel. This empanelment process can be adapted as needed by practice staff.
This case study of a primary care practice provides insight into the clinic’s quality improvement project to improve blood pressure control. It highlights the steps in the quality improvement (QI) process, future measures, and lessons learned.
This toolkit consists of 10 tools and templates—with instructions and examples—for primary care practices to use to improve quality. Tools include: cause and effect diagram, failure modes and effects analysis, histogram, Pareto chart, and scatter diagram.