AHA Trendwatch Report Discusses Hospitals’ Quality Improvement Efforts

U.S. hospitals are committed to pursuing quality improvement on a large scale and have made steady progress, according to an October 2012 Trendwatch report from the American Hospital Association (AHA). The report examines the different approaches and models of quality improvement employed by hospitals, which generally involve five steps: (1) identify target areas for improvement; (2) determine what processes can be modified to improve outcomes; (3) develop and execute effective strategies to improve quality; (4) track performance and outcomes; and (5) disseminate results to spur broad quality improvement.