AHRQ QI: Inpatient Quality Indicators Overview

Inpatient Quality Indicator Measures

The Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs) provide a perspective on quality of care inside hospitals, including: Inpatient mortality for surgical procedures and medical conditions; Utilization of procedures for which there are questions of overuse, underuse, and misuse.

How are Inpatient Quality Indicators used?

The IQIs can be used to help hospitals assess quality of care inside the hospital and identify areas that might need further study.

Download information about AHRQ's Quality Indicators below:

AHRQ QI Software

AHRQ offers free software to help users using the AHRQ QIs generate results that are both accurate and actionable. Use of this free software ensures a standard, trusted approach to quality measurement and means more resources are available for supporting improvements to patient care.

SAS QI v2024

Ideal for advanced users to run in a SAS/STAT software package.

WinQI v2024

WinQI's robust user interface is ideal for non-programmers.

Individual Measure Technical Specifications (v2024 coding)

Breaks down calculations used to formulate each IQI, including a brief description of the measure, numerator and denominator information, and details on cases that should be excluded from calculations.

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IQI Resources

Breaks down calculations used to formulate each IQI, including a brief description of the measure, numerator and denominator information, and details on cases that should be excluded from calculations.
Tables of IQI covariates and coefficients for risk adjustment logistic regression models.
Tables of nationwide comparative rates for IQIs including observed rate, numerator, and denominator data for each indicator overall and stratified by sex and age group.
Documents summarizing revisions made to the IQI software, software documentation and technical specifications since the original release of these documents in November 2001.
Document providing an overview of the composite measures, including how they are created and maintained and other supporting resources.
Using Technical Documentation Materials
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) must be cited when referencing AHRQ Quality Indicator (QI) measures or using them for other materials or products. Any alterations to QI measure specifications must be noted, along with a disclaimer of not being endorsed by AHRQ. Click to view the disclaimer.
AHRQ IQI Technical Documentation, Version v2024, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/measures/iqi_resources. Accessed February 20th, 2025.
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