Good Sources of Information
Agencies and Organizations
The following agencies and organizations make patient quality and safety a health care priority.
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality
AHRQ is the lead federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care for Americans.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The Institute is a non-for-profit organization leading the improvement of health care throughout the world.
Joint Commission
The Joint Commission accredits hospitals, ambulatory (outpatient) care facilities, long-term care facilities and a host of others. Individuals or teams from the Joint Commission visit(s) each facility and grades it on medication use, infection control and more.
Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety
The Center works collaboratively with other leading organizations and agencies to provide patient safety solutions to health care organizations worldwide.
National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions
NACHRI promotes the health and well-being of all children and their families through support of children's hospitals and health systems that are committed to excellence in providing health care to children.
National Patient Safety Foundation
The National Patient Safety Foundation is a resource for individuals and organizations committed to improving the safety of patients.
Solucient
Solucient provides tools that health care managers use to improve the performance of their organizations.
University Health System Consortium
The UHC is an alliance of academic health centers that provides its 235 full members with products and services to improve clinical, operational and financial performance.
Publications
The following publications regularly rank hospitals, medical care education programs and other aspects of health care. The publications usually get their information from the health care organization’s peers (i.e., physicians across the U.S. rank other physicians, hospitals and programs). They usually publish their data gathering methods on their Web site so that you can understand how they arrived at their results.
“Best Doctors in America”
“Best Doctors in America” is an on-line resource developed by Best Doctors Inc. Best Doctors ask physicians, "If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer them?”
Child Magazine’s “Best Children’s Hospitals”
Child magazine ranks the top pediatric centers and five pediatric specialties.
U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools”
The best graduate schools in medicine produce the best doctors. Each year, U.S. News publishes its list, based on factors such as faculty-to-student ratio and peer recognition.
U.S. News “Best Hospitals”
A hospital's overall performance is summed up by its U.S. News score, which is made up of three equal parts: how other noted doctors rate our care, how sick the patients are when they arrive here and how well the patients are when they leave.
