ey can establish a "national strategy for public reporting by hospitals." The three-year plan was due to start in 2002, and the CMS expected that at least half of hospitals would be reporting their quality measures by 2005. Altogether, there are 53 Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO): one for each state, territory, and Washington, D.C. The QIOs are charged with ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries receive efficient quality care.
In some states, hospitals are required by law to report the hospital level of quality-of-care indicators, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is creating a set of quality-of-care measures hospitals must report to become accredited (Hospital, 2001). CMS has been collecting quality measures at the state level since the last statement of work was issued and has been working with the JCAHO to standardize quality indicators measured by the organization and the agency to make reporting e
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