1. Name of activity: Health Care Quality

2. Project leader and email address: William Halperin MD, MPH, DrPH halperwe@umdnj.edu

3. Other involved faculty and email addresses:

4. Brief statement of mission and/or vision:

Sub-optimal quality in health care including medical errors is a problem amenable to preventive and public health action. In 2003, representatives of health insurers, hospitals, health care providers, academics and others formed a Coalition for a Healthier New Jersey to address the issues of health care quality. One of the prime motivations for formation of the Coalition was data from the Center for Medicare Services (Jencks Reports) which consistently ranked New Jersey amongst the lowest performers in health care quality of all state.

5. Specifics about activity:

Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health is one of the founding members of Coalition for a Healthier New Jersey. The offices of the Coalition are hosted within the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. The Department has sponsored one course on health care quality that was offered through the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. The Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health is currently recruiting a faculty member to focus on health care quality.

6. Publications from project:

Date revised: 3/30/05