Although the U.S. offers some of the most technologically advanced health care in the world, study after study shows that the quality of American health care is uneven and in some cases deeply flawed. A 2001 report from the Institute of Medicine, Crossing the Quality Chasm, galvanized a movement to improve the way health care is delivered to patients. Although the report set goals for a better health system, the IOM failed to offer a roadmap for how to reach those objectives.

In 2002 PHSI convened a diverse group of prominent health services researchers, policymakers and institutional leaders to articulate a research agenda to help fill those knowledge gaps and delineate action steps. A summary of the conclusions from this effort was published in the March/April 2003 issue of Health Affairs, A Research Agenda for Bridging the 'Quality Chasm'. The highest priorities for research and action included the adoption and use of information technology, improved performance measurement and strategies for aligning payment methods with quality improvement. PHSI activities in quality improvement have been organized around these priorities and guided by the gaps in knowledge in these areas.

Health Information Technology (HIT)

• Creating a National Health Information Network
• Realizing the Benefits of Health IT for Community Health Centers
• Articulating a Vision for Personal Health Records
• Achieving Success in Clinical IT in Large Organizations

Performance Measurement

• Profiling Hospitals (Using Performance Data to Identify Preferred Hospitals, Discriminating Quality of Hospital Care in the United States)
• How Payers Use Performance Measurement
• Unmeasured Outcomes in Quality Reports

Paying for Quality

• Analytic Summary of First Paying for Quality Initiatives
• Revisiting the Early Adopters
• Empirical Basis for Paying for Quality in Health Care
• Employers Use of Consumer Incentives for Health Improvement