Hospital Quality Initiative

Guidance for explaining the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program.

Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Issue Date: September 18, 2020

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The intent of the Hospital Quality Initiative (HQI) is to improve the quality of care that hospitals provide and to distribute clearly defined and objective data about hospital performance. This encourages consumers to discuss and make more informed decisions on how to obtain the best hospital care, provides incentives for hospitals to improve care, and emphasizes public accountability. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) uses a variety of tools to encourage improvements in the quality of care delivered by hospitals.

These tools include:

Regulating and enforcing standards set by State survey agencies and CMS.
Displaying hospital quality information on Web sites for consumers, including Care Compare on Medicare.gov and the Provider Data Catalog.
Testing rewards for superior performance on certain quality measures.
Using continual, community-based quality improvement resources through the Quality Improvement Organizations.
Developing collaborative partnerships to leverage knowledge and resources.

For additional information, see the Related Links below.

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DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance Notices) or as specifically incorporated into a contract. The Department may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted on the guidance repository, except to establish historical facts.