What if hospital leaders had an easier, more streamlined way to chart an improvement path for their organizations? Imagine a list of key processes that could—if implemented reliably—lower mortality,  reduce harm, lessen delays, create a better patient experience, and lower costs. This possibility is now within reach. 

For the past year, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and several scientific partners have been hard at work developing a tool that will offer an alternative to the current state of affairs in which U.S. hospitals must figure out how to juggle and work on nearly 1,500 quality indicators and long lists of requirements from organizations such as the Joint Commission, the Leapfrog Group, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and other payors. Plus, hospitals must participate in various quality assessment programs. While all worthy in their intent and specificity, this everexpanding list of expectations risks creating more frustration and confusion than improvement. 

It is not surprising that, when asked what they would value most, hospital quality leaders told IHI they needed help making sense of all the demands and requirements, especially with tightening budgets for new projects and initiatives and less and less certainty about which programs can truly help patients, reduce waste, and create greater efficiencies. 

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