Leadership by Example Coordinating Government Roles in Improving Healthcare Quality

The federal government operates six major health care programs that serve nearly 100 million Americans. Collectively, these programs significantly influence how health care is provided by the private sector. Leadership by Exampleexplores how the federal government can leverage its unique position as regulator, purchaser, provider, and research sponsor to improve care - not only in these six programs but also throughout the nation's health care system. The book describes the federal programs and the populations they serve: Medicare (elderly), Medicaid (low income), SCHIP (children), VHA (veterans), TRICARE (individuals in the military and their dependents), and IHS (native Americans). It then examines the steps each program takes to assure and improve safety and quality of care. The Institute of Medicine proposes a national quality enhancement strategy focused on performance measurement of clinical quality and patient perceptions of care. The discussion on which this book focuses includes recommendations for developing and pilot-testing performance measures, creating an information infrastructure for comparing performance and disseminating results, and more. Leadership by Examplealso includes a proposed research agenda to support quality enhancement. The third in the series of books from the Quality of Health Care in America project, this well-targeted volume will be important to all readers of To Err Is Humanand Crossing the Quality Chasm- as well as new readers interested in the federal government's role in health care.Institute of Medicine (U.S.), Committee on Enhancing Federal Healthcare Quality Programs Staff is the author of 'Leadership by Example Coordinating Government Roles in Improving Healthcare Quality' with ISBN 9780309086189 and ISBN 0309086183.