About the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative

The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) is a provider-led and patient-focused nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a culture of continuous improvement in healthcare. IHC's goal is exceptional healthcare in Iowa. IHC plays a unique role in putting healthcare providers (doctors, nurses and hospital executives) in a leadership position to drive clinical improvements and accelerate change.

Proactively created in 2004 through a partnership between the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) and the Iowa Medical Society (IMS), IHC uses a "multi-stakeholder" approach to bring together and engage physicians, hospitals, insurers, employers, consumers and other community partners to share data and rapidly deploy best practices. Through IHC's efforts, healthcare providers gain access to nationally agreed on, evidence-based measures that improve the delivery of care. Insurers get information to facilitate performance improvements and employers are better equipped to educate employees about wellness and prevention resulting in healthier communities.

IHC's focus is to be supportive and complementary to the other national quality and patient safety initiatives and works closely with national organizations like the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the National Quality Forum (NQF), the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and others.

By encouraging communication, collaboration and transparency, IHC ultimately raises the quality, patient safety and value of healthcare in Iowa.

IHC's efforts focus on four cornerstones of activity:

• To align and equip physician and hospital communities with sound approaches for improving quality and value by encouraging best practices.
• To promote responsible public reporting of comparative healthcare performance information.
• To engage the entire community in dialogue, initiatives and activities for clinical improvement.
• To raise the standard of care in Iowa.

To support IHC's cornerstones, its initiatives and work plan are organized into four areas: Education, Public Reporting, Patient Safety, and Clinical Initiatives. Complementary to national patient safety initiatives, IHC's unique structure of actively engaging partners to improve the healthcare of Iowans has become a model for other states.

IHC Mission: The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative works toward the goal of exceptional healthcare in Iowa.

IHC Vision: An Iowa healthcare culture of continuous improvement in quality, safety, and value that eliminates avoidable suffering, injury, illness and death.

Cornerstones:

• Align and Equip Iowa Healthcare Providers on Quality and Value
• Promote Responsible Public Reporting
• Engage the Community for Clinical Improvement
• Raise the Standard of Care in Iowa

Read more about IHC's Strategic Plan