Reasons to Join

NQF is broad-based, composed of public and private healthcare purchasers, providers, consumers and research and quality improvement organizations. Together, the more than 330 organizational members of NQF work to promote a common approach to measuring and reporting healthcare quality. In support of this important effort, membership provides:

A "Seat at the Table" in National Decision-Making of:

• National Voluntary Consensus Standards for the Reporting of Therapeutic Drug Management Quality
  Advances in pharmaceutical science and technology are among the most important achievements of modern healthcare. Large numbers of patients have improved quality of life, and hundreds of thousands of patients with previously fatal diseases now experience transient acute illnesses or live with chronic conditions due to modern drug treatments. At the same time, there is a growing need to address the escalation in costs and related impact on availability, to improve compliance, and to achieve better outcomes for patients with specific diseases. NQF has undertake a project which seeks to achieve consensus on a comprehensive framework for therapeutic drug management, define best practices, policies, and procedures, and will also seek to identify and endorse developed and implemented performance standards that address domains of the framework. It will also make recommendations regarding priority areas for research and standards development where there are gaps.
• Evidence-based Practices to Treat Substance Use Disorders
  In December 2004, NQF undertook a first step towards addressing the need for substance abuse treatment performance measures and benchmarks of effective treatment. In a workshop attended by payers, policymakers, and substance abuse treatment providers, as well as researchers and other experts in effective treatment, participants recommended a set of evidence based treatment practices for substance use disorders that are sufficiently robust for widespread use. This project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, builds on that workshop by seeking to delineate more detailed specifications for practices within the seven practice areas recommended by workshop participants and achieving national consensus around the detailed practices.
• National Voluntary Consensus Standards for the Reporting of Healthcare-associated Infection Data
  Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major public health problem in the United States. HAI are the most common complication affecting hospitalized patients, with between 5 and 10 percent of in-patients acquiring one or more infections during their hospitalization. Overall, an estimated 2 million hospital-acquired HAI occur each year in the United States, accounting for an estimated 90,000 deaths and adding $4.5 to $5.7 billion in healthcare costs. Experts generally believe that at least 20-30% of such infections are preventable. This project seeks to achieve consensus on a comprehensive set of national voluntary consensus standards for the public reporting of healthcare-associated infections data in the United States.

Learn more about our Projects.

Access to Unique Networking Opportunities and Valuable Communications:

• Regular, advance updates on NQF activities
• Advance access to NQF products and documents for review and endorsement
• Exclusive or preferential participation on NQF Steering Committees, which guide projects such as those above
• Reduced registration fees for attendees at the Annual Meeting
• Gratis reports and reduced rates on publications
• An NQF membership directory
• Access to a "Members Only" web site (www.qualityforum.org)