NYSDA Publications

AHRQ Highlights Use of Its Quality Indicators

Jul 1, 2025

Per the notice below, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is highlighting how one medical center has used the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs).

Harborview Medical Center Uses AHRQ’s Quality Indicators To Improve Patient Safety

Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, has improved patient safety across its facilities using AHRQ’s Quality Indicators (QIs) — standardized measures used to assess and monitor healthcare quality.  A level 1 trauma center and safety net hospital, Harborview uses QIs to review adverse events and integrate new, safer processes into standard care.  Specifically, the hospital makes use of Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), a subset of QIs that target in-hospital safety issues.  Harborview uses PSI modules across its medical, surgery, inpatient rehabilitation, and behavioral health areas.  The latter two areas are primarily concerned with PSIs for pressure ulcers and falls, while the bulk of the PSI efforts are geared toward evaluating and addressing patient safety in Harborview’s medical/surgery areas.  Since adopting QIs in 2011, the hospital has reduced the incidence of potentially preventable blood clots after surgery.  Using QIs has also improved Harborview’s Patient Safety and Adverse Events Composite rating (PSI 90).  More details are available in this AHRQ impact story.