Free, innovative new online resource for hospital quality reporting now available

Local health leaders who need an evidence-based primer and decisionmaking framework to help them select measures for public reporting now have a new resource. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently released a new online resource, Selecting Quality and Resource Use Measures: A Decision Guide for Community Quality Collaboratives.

Developed by the University of California's Patrick Romano, M.D., and Dominique Ritley, M.P.H., and the RAND Corporation's Peter Hussey, Ph.D., and based in part on input from Chartered Value Exchange leaders, the decision guide summarizes available empirical evidence and incorporates expert advice, best practices, and real-life case examples to illustrate the breadth of considerations and implementation options. The decision guide includes information on performance data; measures of quality; resource use/efficiency measures; guidance on selecting quality and resource use measures; and guidance on interpreting quality and resource use measures.

The Decision Guide is available at Selecting Quality and Resource Use Measures: A Decision Guide for Community Quality Collaboratives . For free printed copies, send an E-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov or call 1-800-358-9295.