Understanding the Evolving Landscape of Healthcare Quality

Over the past year, you have tirelessly combatted the effects of the pandemic in your local communities, and you have told us how critical the Competency Framework has been in instilling confidence and clarity in times of uncertainty and chaos. We never grow tired of acknowledging this and thanking you, the healthcare heroes, for your immeasurable contributions.

As we make our way through 2021 and begin to see glimmers of new hope and optimism about our recovery from this global health crisis, NAHQ is hard at work to continually understand the evolving landscape of healthcare quality and provide insights about the future of quality. Many of you are asking for more research, more information and more context to share with your colleagues within healthcare organizations regarding the importance of quality, and the path by which it can be fully expressed.

• Recently NAHQ self-published a timely, important Op-Ed that highlighted two keys to building a healthcare quality toolkit.
• Further, NAHQ was featured alongside notable leaders in the healthcare space in a Medical Economics article showcasing linkage of workforce development to value-based care.
• NAHQ recently established a Research Committee that will be evaluating data and publishing research ongoing, beginning this Spring. I encourage you to keep abreast of these developments from your professional home. The first paper, which will be published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, will speak to the fact that CPHQs perform at higher ends of the quality competency spectrum than their non-CPHQ peers. This research will advance the credential and the people who hold this important distinction. Look for this in May 2021.
• Many of you have responded to the Job Task Analysis, which is open now through Friday, March 26. This survey, which takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and is only offered every few years, provides NAHQ with critical insights to inform our current and near-future program development. Please take a moment to contribute to this important research before it closes.
• Finally, be on the lookout for the next quarterly ‘pulse survey’ in the coming weeks. This quick exercise, which should take 5-10 minutes, offers line-of-sight into current landscape conditions and needs among healthcare professionals engaged in quality. Just like you, NAHQ is in the business of continually learning, growing, improving, and aligning. We can only go as far as we can go together, however!

As we work toward achieving a standard level of quality across the workforce, I know you will continue to step up to the plate, share your expertise, and lead improvements in your organizations. And as you find yourself in the midst of these important efforts, remember to take some well-deserved time to care for you, too.

Thank you for all you do every day. Be well and stay safe.

Marian Savage, PhD RN NEA-BC CPHQ PMP
NAHQ President