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Twenty-two areas that all QI managers should focus on

Quality Improvement Monitor, October 15, 2004

Twenty-two areas should be the focus of efforts to improve the quality of healthcare in the U.S., including patient safety, technology, care processes, and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and asthma, says the National Quality Forum (NQF), which unveiled a list of the areas October 8.

NQF announced the list of National Priorities for Healthcare Quality Measurement and Reporting on October 8. Each of the 22 areas is grounded in a 2003 report from the Institute of Medicine report, Priority Areas for National Action: Transforming Health Care Quality, which proposed 20 clinical conditions and cross-cutting healthcare topics around which healthcare quality improvement activities could focus.

In particular, the NQF identified one overarching priority as the most critical need: to focus on vulnerable populations to reduce disparities in health and healthcare. This priority was endorsed as being an essential component in each of its 22 identified areas. The areas include information technology, patient safety, pain management, and health literacy.

In addition, the NQF also recently endorsed a set of national voluntary consensus standards for nursing that are the first such standards for nursing care, and recently endorsed cardiac surgery. More than 250 groups, including hospitals, healthcare systems, regulatory agencies, consumer groups, and professional associations, signed off on the indicators.

-- Wendy Johnson
wjohnson@hcpro.com

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