Patient safety resources
If you're interested in how the safety and quality of health care can be measured and rated, visit these websites.
Patient safety organizations
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Information for consumers, policymakers and other health care leaders. Gives specific examples of medical errors and things that can go - and have gone - wrong, and what has been done to prevent further errors.
AHRQ Patient Safety Network (PSNet)
A national "one-stop" website offering resources for improving patient safety and preventing medical errors.
American Society of Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM)
Information for health care providers on proactive and innovative ways to manage and reduce health care risks.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
Information for health care providers on many health care topics, focusing on health care improvements.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)
Provides education for patients and health care providers on adverse drug events and how to prevent them, primarily for health care practitioners and institutions, regulatory agencies, professional organizations and the pharmaceutical industry. Gives specific tips on what patients can do to prevent medication errors.
National Quality Forum (NQF)
Information for health care providers and patients on national standards developed for health care quality measurement and reporting, and data on health care performance.
National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF)
How to use patient safety information to improve health care.
Josie King Foundation
Story of a patient who died as a result of medical errors. Gives specific examples of steps taken by the family and hospital to help prevent medical errors across the country.
Employer/purchaser organizations
The Alliance
Information for employers on how to purchase affordable health care based on high quality.
National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
Information for employers on affordable health care and how to accelerate the nation's progress toward safe, efficient, high-quality health care.
Public purchasers
Home Health Compare
Specific area of medicare.gov that provides information on the quality of care provided by home health care agencies.
Nursing Home Compare
Specific area of medicare.gov that provides information on the quality of care provided by nursing homes.
Health industry groups
American Hospital Association (AHA)
Source of information for patients and health care providers on health care issues and trends, specifically focused on hospitals, health care networks, their patients and communities.
The Joint Commission
Accreditation status of health care organizations, requirements for health care organizations, and information about unsafe events that have occurred at accredited organizations.
National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA)
Information on the quality of managed-care plans such as Priority Health, the state of health care in the United States, and what managed-care organizations are doing to improve the health care of the nation.