The National Quality Forum (NQF) has launched its “15 Years and Counting” campaign, marking the 15th anniversary of its national efforts to improve the nation’s health and healthcare.
Every several weeks, NQF’s newly redesigned homepage, www.qualityforum.org, will feature a series of 15th-anniversary-focused news briefs that chronicle NQF’s progress and results as well as profile the efforts of some of its 420 members to improve quality.
“NQF’s achievements are only possible because of the creativity and dedication of our volunteers and members, including some 800 individuals, who give their time and expertise to NQF’s work,” said Dr Christine Cassel, NQF president and CEO. “The past 15 years have provided NQF with an excellent foundation upon which to address the healthcare quality challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Conceptualized by a presidential commission and established by Congress in 1999, NQF provides the nation with a private, not-for-profit forum, where patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, insurers, and others come together to define and measure quality healthcare, and recommend how to use those measures in public reporting and payment programs to drive improvement.
“In a relatively short time, NQF’s work with others has made healthcare better, safer, and more cost efficient and, in this way, has had a transformational effect on our healthcare system,” said Cassel. “From making hospital care safer and improving nursing and maternity care to reducing hospital readmissions and improving health plan performance, the quality movement has had a positive impact on virtually every sector of health care.”
National Quality Forum (NQF), Dr Christine Cassel, US
