Nominations are open through December 4 for the NQF Consumers and Patients for Quality Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions of individuals and organizations who work to educate and engage individuals, families, and caregivers to advance healthcare quality.
“Improving healthcare quality relies on the contributions of providers as well as consumer and patient advocates,” said Christine K. Cassel, MD, president and CEO of the National Quality Forum. “Celebrating the work of these advocates underscores the importance of patient engagement to ensure that the care consumers receive is effective, compassionate, and reflects their needs and preferences.”
The inaugural 2015 Consumers and Patients for Quality Award recognized Robert Krughoff, founder and president of the Center for the Study of Services (CSS)/Consumers’ CHECKBOOK, for his leadership in improving transparency in healthcare and promoting greater consumer understanding of healthcare information.
Nominees may be individual patient advocates or a nonprofit or corporate patient advocacy group, policy organization, online consumer resource, or other organization dedicated to helping patients and their families obtain timely, accurate, and easy-to-use information to make informed decisions about quality healthcare. Nominees should:
- Enhance and expand the public’s ability to evaluate information about healthcare quality and safety;
- Display dedication to making quality healthcare a priority for all Americans;
- Take a leadership role in advancing the patient/consumer voice in improving healthcare quality.
Nominations may recognize a singular program or body of work, or a lifetime commitment to improving patient access and care. Only current NQF members may submit a nomination for this award; however, nominees are not limited to NQF members. Self-nominations are welcome.
Nomination letters of no more than two pages in length should be emailed as PDF attachments to Amy Shaw and must be received by Friday, December 4, 2015, at 11:59 pm ET. Please include the email address, phone number, organization, and mailing address for both the nominator and the nominee.
The 2016 Consumers and Patients for Quality Award winner will be selected by a jury of NQF members and notified in February 2016. The award will be presented at NQF’s Annual Conference, “Re-engineering Data for Quality,” April 7-8, 2016, in Washington, DC.