Glossary

Accountable care organizations are groups of doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers who come together voluntarily to give coordinated, high-quality care to their Medicare patients. The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. Learn more about accountable care organizations.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality works within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to translate research findings into better patient care and provide policymakers and other healthcare leaders with information needed to make critical healthcare decisions.

AHRQ provides educational information for patients looking for quality care information.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborates to create the expertise, information and tools that people and communities need to protect their health — through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability and preparedness for new health threats. Learn more about the CDC.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is the federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid and the state Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Learn more about CMS.

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey is the national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care as developed in a collaborative effort between CMS, AHRQ and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The survey and the data collection methodology measures patients’ perceptions of their hospital experience.

HCAHPS has three goals:

• Objective and meaningful comparisons of hospitals on topics important to consumers
• Public reporting of results creates new incentives for hospitals to improve quality of care
• Public reporting enhances accountability in health care by increasing transparency of the quality of hospitalcare

There are 10 HCAHPS measures, all of which are available at Hospital Compare.

Hospital Compare is a CMS website that provides information about the quality of care at more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals across the country. Hospital Compare can be used to find hospitals and compare the quality of their care. The information on Hospital Compare:

• Assists in making decisions about where you get your healthcare
• Encourages hospitals to improve their quality of care

Learn more about Hospital Compare.

An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 20,500 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. The Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards. Learn more about The Joint Commission.

The Joint Commission provides national patient safety goals.

The Joint Commission provides education to assist patients looking for healthcare information.

The Center for Disease Control’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is the nation’s largest healthcare-associated infection tracking system. The data is utilized to identify problem areas, measure the progress of activities and decrease healthcare-associated conditions. Learn more about the National Healthcare Safety Network.

The Patient Safety Indicators provide information on potential in-hospital complications and adverse events following procedures, surgeries and/or childbirth. Hospitals utilize these indicators to identify potential adverse events, assess such adverse events and/or complications. Learn more about Patient Safety Indicators.

A hospital-acquired condition (HAC) is a medical condition or complication that a patient develops during a hospital stay, which was not present at admission. Many healthcare-associated infections can be prevented when hospitals use infection control steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A central line is a narrow tube inserted by a doctor into a large vein of a patient’s neck or chest to give important medical treatment. When not put in correctly or not kept clean, central lines can become an easy way for germs to enter the body and cause serious infections in the blood. These infections are called central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). They are mostly preventable when healthcare providers use infection control steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The central line-associated bloodstream infections measurement compares the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections in a hospital’s intensive care unit to a national benchmark.

A catheter is a drainage tube that is inserted by a doctor into a patient’s urinary bladder through the urethra and is left in place to collect urine while a patient is immobile or incontinent. When not put in correctly or not kept clean, or if left in place for long periods of time, catheters can become an easy way for germs to enter the body and cause serious infections in the urinary tract. These infections are called catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). They are mostly preventable when healthcare providers use infection control steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The catheter-associated urinary tract infections measurement compares the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in a hospital’s intensive care unit to a national benchmark.

The risk-adjusted mortality index compares patients’ actual mortality rates to their expected mortality rates, based on patients’ severity of illness.

Nursing quality indicators come from a nationally recognized nursing database to report and benchmark quality data.

The hospital-acquired pressure ulcer measurement defines the number of patients who developed a new pressure ulcer (bed sore) after admission to the hospital.

The fall rate defines the number of patients per 1,000 days who fall while in the hospital.

Patient restraints are sometimes used to keep a person in proper position and prevent movement or falling during surgery or while on a stretcher. Restraints can also be used to control or prevent harmful behavior. Sometimes patients who are confused need restraints so that they do not hurt themselves or others. 

The restraints measurement defines the percentage of patients requiring restraints.