Patient safety and quality tools

Performance Measurement Sets  Tools developed by physicians for physicians in support of efforts to enhance the quality of patient care.

Health Literacy   The AMA recognizes that limited patient literacy is a barrier to medical diagnosis and treatment and therefore has provided Health Literacy toolkits, sponsored special events and created an extensive grant program that has funded dozens of community-based health literacy programs throughout the United States.

Older Driver Safety  Program assists physicians in making driver safety a routine part of their geriatric medical services.

Fight BAC! ™ Foodborne Illnesses Patient Handout  This patient education pamphlet teaches patients how to avoid foodborne illnesses. (Available in Adobe Acrobat.)

Preventing Infections in the Hospital – What You as a Patient Can Do   The AMA has joined with the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) to help educate patients on ways to prevent infection.

Atlas of the Human Body  Anatomy and medical illustrations to enhance your patient education sessions.

Other AMA resources

• AMA PolicyFinder
• AMA journals

Other patient safety resources
The National Patient Safety Foundation. In 1996, the AMA partnered with CNA HealthPro, 3M, and the Schering-Plough Corporation to found the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). The NPSF Web site offers patient safety education, information, products and tools for physicians, nurses, professional healthcare providers, patients and families.

The National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) Department of Veterans’ Affairs offers information on human factor analysis and safety in high reliability organizations (aviation and nuclear power).

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)  AHRQ supports research on health care systems, health care quality and cost issues, access to health care, and effectiveness of medical treatments. It provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes and quality of care.