Toward a National Health Information Infrastructure: A Key Strategy for Improving Quality in Long-Term Care

Marcelline R. Harris, RN, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic
Christopher G. Chute, MD, Dr.P.H., Mayo Clinic

Jennie Harvell, M.Ed., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Alan White, Ph.D., Abt Associates
Terry Moore, Abt Associates

This report was prepared under contract #282-98-0006 between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy (DALTCP) and Abt Associates. For additional information about the study, you may visit the DALTCP home page at http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/home.shtml or contact the ASPE Project Officer, Jennie Harvell, at HHS/ASPE/DALTCP, Room 424E, H.H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201. Her e-mail address is: Jennie.Harvell@hhs.gov.

We are grateful to Jack Schnelle, Keela Herr, and Nancy Bergstrom for their assistance in identifying the key clinical data they believed essential to making judgments of quality of care related to their specific area of expertise and helpful discussion and feedback. We also thank Andy Kramer for valuable comments on earlier drafts.