The May issue of Quality Progress has an interesting article on provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, the healthcare reform bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law) aimed at improving quality of care, the delivery of care, and patient safety. (“Quality Key Ingredient in Healthcare Reform,” Mark Edmund)

Lost in the hubbub generated by partisan attempts to denigrate the act is well-deserved praise for the following provisions:

• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, an independent body that will conduct research and communicate results on the risks and benefits of marketed drugs, devices, and medical products, including the most effective options.
• Trauma center program will fund research on emergency medicine.
• Workforce advisory committee will determine what steps to take to respond to and avoid doctor and nurse shortages.
• The Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety will research and share information about improving the quality and safety of healthcare.
• Wellness programs funded by grants to small businesses that establish them.
• Innovation center within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will focus on reducing program costs while maintaining or improving quality of care. (And by the way, wouldn’t President Obama’s nominee to lead this organization, Dr. Donald Berwick, be ideally suited for the job?)
• Collaborative Care Network Program aimed at coordinating and integrating healthcare services for uninsured or underinsured people.
• Quality metrics and measures for reporting and reimbursing for federal health programs.
• Bundled payments, to be tested in a pilot program, for providers to promote efficiencies and reduce spending.
• Incentives and penalties for hospitals based on performance.

Let’s hope politics doesn’t squash the potential of these much-needed quality initiatives.

To read more about quality in healthcare, click on these articles:

• Leading Change (Hopefully) at Medicare & Medicaid
• 10 Healthcare Innovations
• 99% Above Average
• A Healthcare Role Model
• Baldrige Saves Lives
• Dead by Mistake

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