Helpful Links

Government & Regulatory Resources

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Federal agency overseeing
Medicare and Medicaid, including Conditions of Participation for Critical Access
Hospitals. cms.gov

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CMS — Critical Access Hospitals CMS program page with CAH certification
requirements, CoPs, and Rural Health Policy resources.
cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/CertificationandComplyliance/CAHs

CMS — Hospital Quality Initiatives Access to Hospital Compare data, HCAHPS, QAPI, and quality measurement resources. cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/HospitalQualityInits

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Federal agency focused on patient safety, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and healthcare research. ahrq.gov

AHRQ — Patient Safety Network (PSNet) Curated resource on patient safety topics, evidence summaries, and weekly updates for safety-focused professionals. psnet.ahrq.gov

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Office of Inspector General (OIG) — HHS Compliance resources, fraud and abuse guidance, and exclusion database. oig.hhs.gov

Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) — Rural Health Federal rural health programs, funding opportunities, and rural health policy information. hrsa.gov/rural-health

 

Quality & Safety Organizations

The Joint Commission (TJC) Accreditation standards, sentinel event alerts, National Patient Safety Goals, and survey preparation resources. jointcommission.org

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Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Evidence-based improvement frameworks, tools, whitepapers, and learning communities for healthcare quality. ihi.org

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National Quality Forum (NQF) Consensus-based quality measures, endorsement standards, and measure stewardship for healthcare. qualityforum.org

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American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Leadership development, policy resources, and professional standards for healthcare executives. ache.org

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American Society for Quality — Healthcare Division Quality management tools, certifications (CPHQ), and healthcare-specific quality resources. asq.org/healthcare

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Rural Health Resources

National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Advocacy, policy, and education focused on rural health access and sustainability. ruralhealthweb.org

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Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR) Rural hospital risk analysis, closure tracking, and payment reform research. Source of the "700+ hospitals at risk" data. chqpr.org

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Flex Monitoring Team — CAH Research Independent research on Critical Access Hospital performance, MBQIP, and quality monitoring. flexmonitoring.org

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Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) CMS quality improvement program for CAHs. Measures, benchmarks, and improvement resources. hrsa.gov/rural-health/improvement/quality

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Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) Comprehensive rural health topics, funding, and policy data supported by HRSA. ruralhealthinfo.org

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National Rural Health Resource Center Technical assistance and tools for rural hospital quality, sustainability, and performance improvement. ruralcenter.org

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Patient Safety & Clinical Practice

Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Medication safety alerts, guidelines, and error-prevention tools for clinical teams. ismp.org

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CDC — Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Data, prevention guidelines, and resources on HAIs, sepsis, and infection control. cdc.gov/hai

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National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP) Clinical guidelines, staging classifications, and prevention resources for pressure injuries. npiap.com

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ECRI Institute Patient safety research, health technology assessment, and safety alerts for healthcare organizations. ecri.org

 

Vitals

Provides information on doctors, including ratings, reviews.

Website: vitals.com

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High Reliability & Improvement Frameworks

AHRQ — High Reliability Organization Resources Evidence base, frameworks, and tools for building high reliability in hospital settings. ahrq.gov/topics/high-reliability

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Lean Enterprise Institute Lean management principles, tools, and applications for healthcare and other industries. lean.org

IHI — Quality Improvement Essentials Toolkit Practical QI tools including PDSA, driver diagrams, run charts, and cause-and-effect analysis. ihi.org/resources/tools

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American Society for Quality — Healthcare Baldrige Framework Baldrige Performance Excellence Program applied to healthcare organizations. asq.org