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The American College of Surgeons establishes the American College of Surgeons' Hospital Standardization Program, setting the groundwork for hospital accreditation.
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The report advocated for closing substandard schools and consolidating resources, standardization of curricula, increased emphasis on science-based training, and the establishment of university-affiliated medical schools
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Before insulin, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. The successful isolation and clinical use of insulin transformed diabetes into a manageable chronic condition
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The Social Security Act is enacted, laying the foundation for federal involvement in healthcare
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Marked a shift toward global cooperation in health, disease eradication, and epidemic response.
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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals is founded, later becoming the Joint Commission (JCAHO), to set standards for hospital care
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Medicare and Medicaid are established under the Social Security Amendments, expanding federal oversight of healthcare services
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The federal government mandates Professional Standards Review Organizations (PSROs) to oversee the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries.
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The Joint Commission adopts rigorous accreditation standards based on Avedis Donabedian's framework: structure, process, and outcomes
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The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is founded, introducing the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) to measure health plan performance.
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is established to support research on healthcare quality and safety
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The Institute of Medicine publishes To Err Is Human, highlighting medical errors as a leading cause of death.
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The Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program is established, expanding public reporting of hospital quality data.
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The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act is enacted, promoting voluntary reporting of patient safety events
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is signed into law, introducing reforms aimed at improving healthcare quality and reducing costs.
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The National Quality Strategy is launched to align national efforts to improve healthcare quality
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Widespread implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) to personalize patient care and predict health outcomes.
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Integration of real-time health data from wearable devices into electronic health records for continuous monitoring.