There is a great deal of critiquing of health care and the provision of health care services in the USA. In order to perform better than other providers in their area, hospitals, clinics, home health

There is a great deal of critiquing of health care and the provision of health care services in the USA. In order to perform better than other providers in their area, hospitals, clinics, home health care agencies, heath insurers, etc., often work with external organizations (a business outside and separate from the health care facility) who set up quality standards for healthcare. The quality standards set by these external agencies strive to improve healthcare for the American population. Here are some examples of external agencies and a brief description of their goal:

• The Joint Commission - measure, assess and improve performance in high quality care
• NCQA -  improving healthcare quality through voluntary participation
• CHAP - standards of excellence for home care
• HL7 - standards for the exchange, integration and sharing of electronic health information
• HEDIS - tool used by health insurance plans to measure healthcare performance 

There are other external agencies, as well, and some additional examples include CARF, URAC, and ASTM. Information on any of the above external agencies can be located with a simple search such as "CARF standards" but be sure to go the actual agency's website only. 

To complete this assignment, please research three external agencies that work to improve healthcare quality. You may use any of the above agencies or locate another. After locating an agency, demonstrate your knowledge by completing the table linked below for each of the three external agencies you chose to use. The table is partially completed as an example – you may use CARF but you cannot use the specific standard already recorded below in the example. Save the Word document for submission.  Your submission will have one table for each of the three external agencies you chose. Be sure to include proper citations and a reference page for your submission.

External Agency Template