Nursing Quality
For more than 100 years, the American Nurses Association (ANA) has worked to improve patient safety by promoting quality in nursing care and nurses’ work lives. ANA advocates for nursing quality through quality measurement, research collaborative learning, and using quality data to change practice.
Examples of ANA’s efforts to improve patient safety using quality data include translating traditional quality measurements into eMeasures, and the development of a streamlined tool to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).
Quality organizations
Many government agencies and nonprofit or educational organizations are working to promote patient safety by improving health care quality.
List of organizations
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. An agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports research that improves the quality of healthcare services.
ANCC Magnet Recognition Program ®
The Magnet Recognition Program designates organizations worldwide where nursing leaders successfully align their nursing strategic goals to improve the organization’s patient outcomes. Magnet provides a roadmap to nursing excellence, which benefits the whole of an organization.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CMS is the federal agency that administers the Medicare program and monitors the Medicaid programs offered by each state.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that runs the Medicare program, created this tool in collaboration with organizations representing people with Medicare, hospice organizations, other stakeholders and other federal agencies. Although the tool was created for people with Medicare in mind, many of the measures apply to people who many not have Medicare.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)is a nonprofit organization focused on motivating and building the will for change, partnering with patients and healthcare professionals to test new models of care, and ensuring the broadest adoption of best practices and effective innovations.
National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention
National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP)is an independent body comprised of 27 national organizations, including ANA, cooperating to address the interdisciplinary causes of errors and to promote the safe use of medications.
National Quality Forum (NQF) is a nonprofit organization with a three-part mission to improve the quality of American health care: building consensus on national priorities and goals for performance; endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education programs.
The ANCC Pathway to Excellence Program is a globally recognized designation that promotes positive practice environments where nurses can thrive. With its unique emphasis on staff well-being, the program highlights the critical role of creating workplaces that support nurse engagement, growth, and fulfillment. By fostering these conditions, organizations and nurses become true partners in achieving sustainable, high-quality outcomes.
For over 100 years, ANA has worked to improve patient safety by promoting quality in nursing care