NQF Recognizes National Partnership for Women & Families for Advancing Patient- and Family-Centered Care 

Washington, DC—The National Quality Forum (NQF) today presented its 2018 Consumers and Patients for Quality Award to the National Partnership for Women & Families (National Partnership). Founded in 1971, the National Partnership is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that improves the lives of women and families by advancing gender equity and social and economic justice, including by promoting access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. The National Partnership empowers women and their families to make informed decisions about their health and healthcare, and to serve as an equal partner in their healthcare teams.

Presented annually, NQF’s Consumers and Patients for Quality Award recognizes outstanding contributions of an NQF-member organization or an individual to engage patients, consumers, families, and caregivers in decisions about their care.

“The NQF Consumers and Patients for Quality Award is a celebration of essential efforts to advance communication and shared decision making among patients, families, and healthcare providers,” said Shantanu Agrawal, MD, MPhil, president and CEO, National Quality Forum. “The National Partnership for Women & Families made enormous strides toward bridging communication gaps between patients and providers by equipping women and families with tools and skills to become true partners in their health and care.”

Nominated by Yale New Haven Health Services Corporation’s Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE), the award highlights the National Partnership’s leadership to convene the Coalition for Better Care (CBC). A broad-based coalition of consumer advocacy organizations, the CBC is committed to ensuring that the healthcare system better meets the needs of all Americans by involving patients and family caregivers in their own care and through the design of innovative care delivery models. A key part of the CBC’s work is facilitating trainings where patients and physicians work to translate complex clinical and statistical information into clear, accessible language. The National Partnership joined forces with providers across the country to provide technical assistance and outreach support. The CBC’s impact has been far-reaching, including helping to form 230 patient and family advisory councils and developing education and training materials that have reached more than 3,700 organizations nationwide.

Four years ago, Yale CORE sought the National Partnership’s guidance on how best to engage patients, advocates, family caregivers, and consumers in quality measurement to advance patient-centered care. The National Partnership developed and executed an effective model for Yale CORE to recruit and train patients and families in quality measurement, measure methodology, and the use of measures in federal policy programs. In 2017, the National Partnership engaged Yale CORE’s network of 72 partners in 15 projects spanning eight measures on topics including new measure development, measure reevaluation, rulemaking, and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital Star Ratings. As part of the model, the National Partnership and CORE meet with partners before and after each engagement activity to review materials, discuss challenging concepts, and ensure that partners feel valued and that their voices are heard.

“Meaningful engagement of patients and family caregivers in all levels of healthcare, including quality measurement, is fundamental to broader efforts to improve how our country pays for and delivers healthcare,” said Debra L. Ness, National Partnership president. “Our work with Yale CORE has provided a critical opportunity to identify what works when it comes to engaging patients and families in quality measurement, and then share those lessons with others in the healthcare system as we collectively push for change. We’re enormously grateful that our colleagues at NQF share an appreciation for the value of this important work.”  

This year’s NQF Consumers and Patients for Quality Award was presented during NQF’s 2018 Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

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The National Quality Forum (NQF) is the nation’s resource for healthcare quality measurement and improvement. NQF is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organization that brings healthcare stakeholders together to recommend quality measures and improvement strategies that reduce costs and help patients get better care. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.