Project Background 

Project Background

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Quality Indicators (QIs) were developed by an EPC team between 1998 and 2002. Under an AHRQ contract, the EPC conducted a review of the evidence related to quality measurement based on administrative data. Using interviews, literature review and other sources (e.g., Web search), the EPC identified candidate indicators. An evaluation framework was applied to information about candidate indicators gathered through literature review, empirical analyses, and in the case of the Patient Safety Indicators, structured clinician panel review. The evidence was summarized in two separate reports, 1) "Refinement of the HCUP Quality Indicators," summarizing the evidence for the Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQI) and the Prevention Quality Indicators (PQI) and 2), "Measures of Patient Safety Based on Administrative Data: The Patient Safety Indicators." Developed in partnership with the EPC, AHRQ has released SAS® and SPSS® software modules to assist in utilizing these indicators.

Subsequent to completion of the EPC Quality Indicator Development project, AHRQ contracted with Battelle Memorial Institute and collaborators at Stanford University and the University of California Davis to provide ongoing support and further research on quality indicator improvement.

Project Development Team

The EPC development review team for quality indicators included over 20 researchers with expertise in health services research, internal medicine and pediatrics, statistical techniques, health care quality measurement and research methodology. Team members were drawn from Stanford University, the University of California at Davis, the University of California at San Francisco, and AHRQ. Major contributors are listed.

• Stanford University
  • Kathryn McDonald, MM
  • Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
  • Jeffrey Geppert, JD
  • Sheryl Davies, MA
  • Bradford Duncan, MD, MS
• University of California at Davis
  • Patrick Romano, MD, MPH
• University of California at San Francisco
  • Kaveh Shojania, MD
• AHRQ
  • Anne Elixhauser, PhD

Project Support Team

The support team for the AHRQ QIs combines some of the developers of the QIs with technical experts from Battelle Memorial Institute, working in conjunction with AHRQ personnel.

• Battelle Memorial Institute
  • Jeffrey Geppert, JD, Co-Director
  • Mark Gritz, PhD, Co-Director
  • Greg Hubert, Program Manager
  • Jeff Schoenborn, Software Developer
  • Bruce Ellis, MS, Analyst
  • Elaine Keller, Documentation
• Stanford University
  • Kathryn McDonald, MM, Project Director
  • Sheryl Davies, MA, Project Manager
  • Amy Ku, Researcher
• University of California at Davis
  • Patrick Romano, MD, MPH, Clinical Review Leader
  • Julie Rainwater, PhD, Researcher
• AHRQ
  • Mamatha Pancholi, MS, Project Officer
  • Marybeth Farquhar, RN, MSN, Project Officer

top of page