The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announces the release of the 2007 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the 2007 National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR). Published annually, the NHQR and NHDR are part of a comprehensive effort to measure the quality of health care in the United States.

The reports include a broad set of performance measures that serve as baselines and track trends in health care quality. Racial and socioeconomic health care disparities are measured nationwide, focusing on effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness. The NHDR also measures two components of access—facilitators and barriers to health care and utilization. HCUP provides the national estimates for the AHRQ Quality Indicators, which are one of the many types of measures in the reports.

In addition to the reports, state-level estimates from the NHQR are highlighted in the interactive, web-based 2007 State Snapshots. The State Snapshots provide State-specific statistics on health care quality, including strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement—providing public and private sector organizations the information to better understand the health care quality and disparities of their State.

The 2007 State Snapshots include several new features: a dashboard for looking at all summary meters at a quick glance, new summary meters for Health People 2010 measures, clinical preventive services measures, and also new dials that show the context of the state’s environment (demographics, health risk, and health resources). Each of these shows the state’s position compared to all reporting states and those in the region.

For more information on the National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR), National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR), and NHQR State Snapshots, please visit the Measuring Healthcare Quality Page on the AHRQ Website.