Benchmark --- something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged

Beta Blocker --- any class of drugs that slow heart action and increase coronary blood flow by blocking the activity of beta-receptors

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) --- CMS is a Federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Programs for which CMS is responsible include Medicare, Medicaid, State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Clinical Laboratory Improvements Act.

Evidence-based health care --- Evidence-based medicine tries to address the question�what is the evidence we have to justify the treatments used in clinical practice? Clinical trials and other types of research aim to provide evidence (�proof�) whether a particular treatment works, how well it works compared to other treatments, and what are the risks of the treatment. Various organizations now collect the results of clinical trials and other types of research to determine the evidence for various treatments and procedures. The overall goal is improving patient care through life-long learning. 

HIPAA --- HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. On this web site, references to HIPAA are references to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which establishes federal standards for the protection to patient health care information. In addition to other provisions, the Privacy Rule specifies the scope of patient information that may be released by hospitals and other health care providers without specific patient authorization.

HealthInsight --- A non-profit health care quality improvement organization (QIO) based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hospital Compare --- A quality tool for adults, including people with Medicare - www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov

Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) --- ISMP is a nonprofit organization that works closely with healthcare practitioners and institutions, regulatory agencies, professional organizations and the pharmaceutical industry to provide education about adverse drug events and their prevention.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) --- JCAHO is an independent, not-for-profit organization that evaluates and accredits more than 16,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. JCAHO is the nation's predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. JCAHO has developed state-of-the-art, professionally based standards and evaluated the compliance of health care organizations against these benchmarks.

Measure --- an estimate of what is to be expected

National Quality Forum (NQF) --- The National Quality Forum is a private, not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for healthcare quality measurement and reporting. The mission of the NQF is to improve American healthcare through endorsement of consensus-based national standards for measurement and public reporting of healthcare performance data that provide meaningful information about whether care is safe, timely, beneficial, patient-centered, equitable and efficient.

Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) --- See Health Insight.

State Benchmark --- The state benchmark for CheckPoint is the 90th percentile for reported Utah hospitals.