BHCS collaborates with other institutions and organizations focused on quality improvement through operational change and research, including:
International Society for Quality in Health Care
From 2001 to 2003, David Ballard, MD, MSPH, PhD, FACP, Executive Director and BHCS Endowed Chair of the Institute for Health Care Research and Improvement, served as President of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), a non-profit independent organization with members in over 70 countries.
ACTION II
In 2010, BHCS was selected to participate in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ACTION II network as a collaborator with Intermountain Healthcare. ACTION II is a a model of field-based research designed to promote innovation in health care delivery by accelerating the diffusion of research into practice.
Texas Hospital Association
David Ballard, MD, MSPH, PhD, FACP, Executive Director and BHCS Endowed Chair of the Institute for Health Care Research and Improvement, is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Hospital Association. Texas hospitals and the 355,000 health care professionals they employ share one overarching mission: to make quality, compassionate, affordable health care accessible to all Texans.
Joint Commission Goals
BHCS seeks to achieve the National Patient Safety Goals established by the Joint Commission, the nation's predominant standards-setting body in health care. Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, evaluates and accredits nearly 15,000 health care programs in the United States. Due to the multi-year high performance on Joint Commission Core Measures, Joint Commission has visited BHCS to learn about achieving high reliability.
National Quality Forum
The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a private, not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for healthcare quality measurement and reporting. Numerous BHCS leaders have provided direction for the NQF by serving on technical advisory and steering committees, including Dr. Paul Convery, BHCS Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, who served as the Chair of the Provider Council for NQF.
High Value Healthcare Collaborative
Baylor Health Care System, along with several other top health care organizations, is a member of the High Value Healthcare Collaborative (HVHC). The cooperative is a relatively new team approach by some of the nation's most prestigious health care institutions to rein in health care costs while improving quality of care. Members of the HVHC share critical information and resources, such as costs, outcomes data, best practices, and care pathways with each other and the public.
AcademyHealth
BHCS is an affiliate member of AcademyHealth, whose mission is to improve health and health care by generating new knowledge and moving knowledge into action. AcademyHealth represents a broad community of people with an interest in and commitment to using health services research to improve health care.
Nationwide Health Information Network Exchange
BHCS is part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Nationwide Health Information Network Exchange, designed to connect a diverse set of federal agencies and private organizations to securely exchange electronic health information.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
BHCS frequently collaborates with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). An independent, not-for profit-organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, IHI focuses on motivating and building the will for change, identifying and testing new models of care in partnership with both patients and health care professionals, and ensuring the broadest possible adoption of best practices and effective innovations.