Other Quality Measures

What is the relationship of the Inpatient Quality Indicators or Prevention Quality Indicators and similar indicators found elsewhere?

Although other non-proprietary measurement tools were reviewed during the development of the AHRQ QIs, the specifications for the AHRQ QIs are often different from the specifications for these other measurement tools. Refer to the guide documentation (PQIs Guide / IQIs Guide) for details of the specifications and rationale for the indicators included in the AHRQ QIs.

What information is available regarding quality indicators not included in the AHRQ QIs software?

The guide documentation (PQIs Guide / IQIs Guide / PSI Guide) provides background information on indicators that were considered but not included in the AHRQ QIs. Various non-proprietary measurement tools were reviewed during the development of the AHRQ QIs and some of these indicators were included in the AHRQ QIs software using the original specifications, other indicators were defined differently and other indicators were not included in the software. The technical documentation describes differences in specification and rationale between the AHRQ QIs and other measurement tool indicators.

Other quality measures are called "quality indicators," are they the same as the AHRQ QIs?

While other measurement tools may also be termed "quality indicators," the AHRQ Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs), Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) and Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) are not explicitly related to other indicator sets.

Are quality indicators that apply to outpatient care, or other health care not currently covered in the AHRQ Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs), Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs), or Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) available as part of the AHRQ QIs?

Currently the AHRQ QIs are designed for use with inpatient hospital discharge data and primarily apply to the inpatient setting. The Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) are pertinent to outpatient care since the indicators represent hospitalization rates for events that could potentially be prevented by improvements in access to and/or delivery of outpatient care. The AHRQ QIs may be expanded in the future to include quality indicators for other patient care settings (e.g., ambulatory surgery care), but such an effort is not yet underway.