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Get to know the AHRQ Quality Indicators
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Bringing excellence to healthcare decision making, quality improvement, and research
Quality Indicators (QIs) are standardized, evidence-based measures of health care quality that can be used with readily available hospital inpatient administrative data to measure and track clinical performance and outcomes.
- Highlight potential quality improvement areas
- Track changes over time
- Identify areas for further study
Put the Quality Indicators to work for your organization
News you can use
Indicator Changes
February 17, 2021 - AHRQ publishes the explanation on PSI 03 (Pressure Ulcer Rate) measure logic used in v2020 QI software.
May 23, 2019 - AHRQ announces the retirement of 21 indicators in v2019: PQI, IQI, PSI and PDI Indicators
December 15, 2017 - Release of AHRQ QI Beta software for v7.0.1 SAS QI and WinQI Software.
September 22, 2017 - Release of AHRQ QI Beta software for v7.0 SAS QI and WinQI Software for organizations to apply the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs) to their own data to assist quality improvement efforts in acute care hospital settings.
Read MoreSoftware Releases
September 13, 2021
– Minor release of SAS QI v2021.0.1 software
Click here - New!
July 30, 2021
– Release of AHRQ QI SAS QI and WinQI v2021 software
Click here
October 28, 2020 – Minor release of WinQI v2020.0.1 risk adjusted software Click here
July 31, 2020 – Release of AHRQ QI SAS QI and WinQI v2020 risk adjusted software Click here
September 17, 2019 – Minor Release of AHRQ QI SAS QI (PSI Module) and WinQI v2019.0.1 ICD-10-CM/PCS risk adjusted software Click here
July 29, 2019 – Release of AHRQ QI SAS QI and WinQI v2019 ICD-10-CM/PCS risk adjusted software Click here
August 20, 2018 – Minor release of WinQI v2018.0.1 ICD-10-CM/PCS (non-risk adjusted) software. Click here
Read MoreOthers
September 8, 2021 Updated SAS QI software packages (IQI, PSI, and PDI) will be published on September 13, 2021 to resolve an issue with COVID-19 exclusion logic with 2020 data only. Click here to see the details. - New!
July 30, 2021 To learn the impact of COVID-19 on the AHRQ Quality Indicators, click here. - New!
May 18, 2021 AHRQ will no longer seek NQF re-endorsement for its portfolio of measures in the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs) program starting in fiscal year 2022. Click here for rationale.
June 4, 2018 – Give us your input on the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs)!
March 2, 2018 - Opportunity for Public Comment on Scientific Acceptability of AHRQ QIs for Quality Improvement efforts. Click here for details
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Explore The Quality Indicators
Prevention Quality Indicators (PQI)
The PQIs are area-level Indicators that calculate admissions that might have been avoided through access to high-quality outpatient care and are a key tool for community health needs assessments.
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Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQI)
The IQIs include mortality indicators, utilization indicators, and volume indicators for key procedures to help hospitals identify potential problem areas that might need further study, as well as for quality improvement and trending initiatives.
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Patient Safety Indicators (PSI)
The PSIs reflect potentially avoidable safety events that represent opportunities for improvement in the delivery of care.
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Pediatric Quality Indicators (PDI)
The PDIs are specifically tailored to reflect the special characteristics of the pediatric population, including neonates, and can be used to identify potential quality and patient safety issues specific to the pediatric inpatient population.
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AHRQ QIs In Action
The Johns Hopkins Hospital worked diligently to improve its performance for Postoperative Respiratory Failure (PSI 11). The effort started back in 2012 when only 30 percent were able to be removed from a ventilator within the desired timeframe. Today, nearly 60 percent of cardiac patients are taken off a ventilator in less than six hours following surgery.
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After examining its rate of Iatrogenic Pneumothorax (PSI 06), Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, part of the Carilion Clinic health system, instituted a residency simulation program that decreased its rate for this Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) by over 50 percent.
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Missouri Hospital Association launched a public reporting website that uses a range of AHRQ QIs to support greater statewide transparency on hospital quality and cost. Initially a voluntary effort, the state legislature now mandates that all Missouri hospitals report pricing data for the 100 most common Diagnostic-Related Groups.
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Free software puts the power of the AHRQ Quality Indicators in your hands
AHRQ offers free software to help organizations easily use the AHRQ QIs to generate actionable information about the quality of care they provide. The evidence-based AHRQ QIs provide a standard, trusted approach to quality measurement to guide improvements in patient care
Calculate Quality Indicators with our SAS and WinQI Software
- Easily calculate quality of care events that might need further study
- Leverage software for hospital inpatient administrative data
- Make data readily available and inexpensive
- Completely free and easy to use
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