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Mission

Mission Statement

The mission of the National Quality Forum is to improve the quality of American healthcare by setting national priorities and goals for performance improvement, endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.

Vision:

  • The NQF will be the convener of key public and private sector leaders to establish national priorities and goals to achieve the Institute of Medicine Aims—health care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable.
  • NQF-endorsed standards will be the primary standards used to measure and report on the quality and efficiency of healthcare in the United States.
  • The NQF will be recognized as a major driving force for and facilitator of continuous quality improvement of American healthcare quality.

Strategic Goals:

  1. Establish an ongoing structure for convening public and private sector leaders to set (and periodically update) National Priorities and Goals for performance improvement of the U.S. health care system.
  2. Develop a Performance Measurement Framework that will assure the availability of a comprehensive set of NQF-endorsed performance measures adequate to evaluate progress in meeting national goals for each of the priority areas and to satisfy the information needs of multiple stakeholders, including consumers, purchasers, providers, health plans and policy makers.
    1. Identify gaps in currently available NQF-endorsed measures
    2. Attempt to fill gaps by issuing a “call for measures” and identifying the best measures that satisfy NQF criteria.
    3. Where adequate measures do not currently exist, encourage measure developers to fill such gaps.
  3. Strengthen and streamline the NQF Measure Endorsement and Maintenance Processes
    1. Implement the recommendations of the Ad Hoc CDP Committee
    2. Establish a mechanism to promote ongoing communication and collaboration between measure developers and NQF to promote “measure harmonization,” facilitate composite measure development, and ensure that NQF-endorsed measures have specifications that facilitate incorporation into EHRs.
    3. Work with stewards of NQF-endorsed measures to implement measure maintenance processes that are “real time” and transparent.
  4. Sponsor Education and Outreach Initiatives to encourage and facilitate achievement of meaningful and sustainable advances in the quality of care.
    1. Enhance communication with NQF Members and opportunities for Member involvement
      1. Implement new membership council/issue group structure
      2. Take greater advantage of web-based and other methods of information dissemination and communication with Members.
      3. Enhance and expand participation in NQF National Policy Conference on Quality and the Annual and Membership Meetings.
    2. Develop a Quality Resource Center
      1. Build a web-based resource center to help leaders navigate the fast-moving quality environment, tracking issues such national goal setting efforts, use of standardized measures, payment innovations and state and national public reporting initiatives, and providing a vehicle for stakeholder feedback to refine strategies to drive improvement.
      2. Continue to expand leadership programs and activities including the Annual Leadership Colloquium and related activities.
    3. Continue sponsorship and enhancement of recognition of programs.
      1. John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality, co-sponsored with the Joint Commission, recognizes major achievements of individuals and organizations in improving patient safety and quality.
      2. NQF National Quality Healthcare Award, an annual award recognizing healthcare organizations that demonstrate commitment to transparency and data-driven, whole-system improvement.
  5. Contribute to the development of an effective and efficient National Quality Measurement and Reporting Infrastructure.
    1. Actively participate and contribute to the work of the Alliance Steering Committee, AQA, CMS, Hospital Quality Alliance, The Joint Commission and NCQA.
    2. Engage in educational and outreach activities to encourage stable and adequate funding for such an infrastructure.