The National Priorities Partnership is the first broad attempt by key quality improvement stakeholders to establish national priorities for quality improvement. The effort was convened by the National Quality Forum and co-chaired by Don Berwick of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (now Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Adminstrator) and Peggy O’Kane of the National Committee for Quality Assurance. These priorities already have been used as the framework for the requirements for meaningful use of certified electronic health records to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments under the HITECH Act and by the Institute of Medicine in its report on the Future Directions of the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports.
While there were several operating divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services involved in developing the priorities, this was not a federally funded or endorsed activity. However, the priorities are likely to be highly influential as HHS now develops a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Ignatius Bau 