Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As one of 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports health services research that will improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decision-making.

Health Disparities Collaborative
The Health Disparities Collaborative Web site is home for a community of learners who are committed to improving systems of health care. Using the methodology of the Planned Care Model and the Model for Improvement in the context of Community Oriented Primary Care, health centers are making a positive difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

This site provides the centralized portal for communication as well as a forum for sharing the challenges, successes, tools of the trade and lessons learned. With the support of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with our strategic state and national partnerships, we are transforming systems of care to improve patient health outcomes and organizational sustainability.

All Massachusetts health centers may access the Massachusetts Virtual Office as a resource for a statewide listserv and resources.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement
IHI is a reliable source of energy, knowledge, and support for a never-ending campaign to improve health care worldwide.  The Institute helps accelerate change in health care by cultivating promising concepts for improving patient care and turning those ideas into action.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Since 1951, the Joint Commission has maintained state-of-the-art standards that focus on improving the quality and safety of care provided by health care organizations. The Joint Commission’s comprehensive accreditation process evaluates an organization’s compliance with these standards and other accreditation requirements. Joint Commission accreditation is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.

Massachusetts Association for Healthcare Quality
The Massachusetts Association for Healthcare Quality (MAHQ) is dedicated to providing education and opportunities for professional growth for its members, while promoting teamwork and communication within the healthcare community.

Masspro
Masspro is one of the leading performance improvement organizations in the United States, dedicated to advancing healthcare quality.  Founded by the Massachusetts Medical Society, which publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, Masspro transforms healthcare through developing and disseminating innovative solutions across all sectors of the healthcare delivery system.

National Committee for Quality Assurance
Provides information on the quality of the nation’s managed care plans.

Office of Performance Review
Each year, HRSA conducts approximately 500 performance reviews to assure that the more than 3,000 organizations receiving grant or cooperative agreement funding from HRSA are successfully accomplishing their program purposes.

A performance review is a collaborative effort between HRSA and the grantee. It includes: 

• selection of Performance Review Measures
• analysis of performance in relation to the selected Performance Review Measures
• creation of a Performance Report, which includes Performance Improvement Options, and
• development of an Action Plan, which includes Performance Improvement Actions to be completed by the grantee on each Performance Review Measure

Health Providers' Lupus ToolKit
There is ample clinical information available for providers on lupus. The information contained in this tool kit is not meant to substitute for the clinical information that is obtainable with a simple modicum of effort. Rather, it is meant to be a quick reference and a supplement enabling health providers to take a more holistic approach to patients, those already diagnosed and undiagnosed with lupus. That is to say, to take the patient’s point of view more into account and to appreciate the broad spectrum of the effect of lupus on their daily lives. The intent of the tool kit is to allow the health provider to be both "healer" and " helper" to patients living with lupus.