Aligning Forces for Quality

Quality Improvement Strategy

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Against the backdrop of reports and studies that show major problems with the quality and affordability of U.S. health care, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has invested in the Puget Sound Health Alliance and 13 other regional organizations around the country as part of their $300 million initiative called "Aligning Forces for Quality."

See the Foundation's June 5, 2008 Announcment of Granting $1 Million to the Alliance

The Alliance has been part of the Aligning Forces for Quality project since 2006, when it received a three-year grant totalling more than $600K. In addition to funding, the Foundation offers a wealth of national expertise and training. In turn, the Alliance brings together local patients, doctors, hospitals, employers, health plans and others to get real results in improved quality and value. Together, we our aim is to lift the overall quality of health care, reduce racial disparities and provide models for national reform.

A critical element to the Aligning Forces quality-improvement strategy is measuring the performance of health care in the local region, according to criteria agreed upon by doctors and other experts. The Alliance collects data about how well doctors and others in the community are doing and reports it to the public (see the Alliance's Community Checkup report). This helps everyone in the region to better understand what they each need to do to improve. Patients, for example, can see what types of care is most effective to treat certain health conditions and then talk with their doctors to make sure they get care that helps them get -- and stay  -- healthy.

Aligning Forces teams are broad based. They include doctors, nurses and other providers who have committed to improving the quality of the care they deliver to patients with chronic conditions. They work with them to define goals and set standards for reporting quality data. This will allow consumers and the referring physicians to make better decisions about where to get good care.

Aligning Forces is also working with patients and consumer advocates. They contribute to the quality-improvement effort by taking a greater role in their own health care, from the way they select their providers to the way they manage their chronic conditions. Finally, Aligning Forces is asking community leaders and those who pay for health care—government, employers, insurers—to reward performance and direct attention and resources to quality improvement.

The only way to improve health care is getting everyone to work together. Up to now, too many of the players have been so tightly bound in their own competitive bubble. Aligning Forces is determined to change that—and those who have worked hard to get people access to care should rightly expand their focus to include quality—getting people the right care at the right time, not just any care.

Read more about the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Aligning Forces for Quality Program

Questions? Contact us.