Current
Presidential Executive Order
August 22, 2006 President Bush signed an executive order aimed
at promoting health care quality and efficiency in federal government
programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(Medicare), Office of Policy and Management (federal employee health
benefits), Department of Defense (Tricare), Indian Health Service,
and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Effective Jan. 2007, the
order requires that the agencies utilize, where available, health
information technology systems that meet interoperability standards.
The federal agencies will be required to develop and implement programs
that measure the quality of care or service provided to their beneficiaries,
in collaboration with similar initiatives in the private and public
sector. The executive order also requires the agencies to make pricing
information available—the amount that providers are paid for certain
procedures—and to develop ways to report information on the costs
of treating chronic illnesses and common episodes of care. Executive
Order (PDF, 5 pages)
Patient Safety Legislation
On July 29, 2005, President Bush signed into law the "Patient
Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005" [P.L.
109-41], which encourages healthcare providers to promote a
"culture of safety" through their voluntary submission of medical
errors data. The data would be used for educational and research
initiatives and analyses supported by the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ). More>>
For further information regarding Quality activities, including
the Hospital Quality Alliance, please visit the Health
Care Quality website.
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