T HE J OINT C OMMISSION 200 APRIL 2001 J OURNAL A s the health care sector becomes more market driven and consumer oriented, hospitals are increasingly being called on to demonstrate that high-quality care is provided in a cost-effective way. T here is an increasing demand for information that can help hospitals evaluate their performance and make improvements. T his is particularly true for hos- pitals in New York State. In July 1996 the New York State Legislature enacted the New York Health Care Reform Act, overturning the state’s prospective hospi- tal reimbursement system, which had set hospital rates for private patients since 1983. Starting in January 1997, hospitals began to negotiate rates directly with private payers. At the same time, managed care pene- tration continued to grow across the state, particularly in urban and suburban areas. T he health care envi- ronment in New York State changed from being highly regulated to being market driven. In response to market pressures, many initiatives on performance measurement and reporting arose This account of the experience of the Healthcare Association of New York State in adapting the HCUP quality indicators to produce com- parative reports for its member hospitals should be of interest to health care executives, quality improvement professionals, and researchers who have an interest in health services and public policy. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND MEASUREMENT Adapting the HCUP QIs for Hospital Use: T he Experience in New York State H. J OANNA J IANG, PHD KATHLEEN CICCONE, RN, MBA CHARLES J. URLAUB, MBA D ONALD BOYD, MBA GLENDA MEEKS, RN, BSN LINDA HORTON, RN, MSN, CPHQ H. Joanna Jiang, PhD, formerly Senior Researcher, Health- care Association of New York State, Albany, New York, is Social Scientist, Center for Organization and Delivery Stud- ies, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland. Kathleen Ciccone, RN, MBA, is Vice President, Division of Quality and Research Initiatives, Healthcare Asso- ciation of New York State. Charles J. Urlaub, M BA, is Vice President, Process Improvement; Donald Boyd, MBA, and Glenda Meeks, RN, BSN, are Managers, Quality Improve- ment; and Linda Horton, RN, MSN, CPHQ, is Director, Quality Improvement, Kaleida Health, Buffalo, New York. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of all the affiliated orga- nizations. Please address requests for reprints to Kathy Cic- cone, Division of Quality and Research Initiatives, Healthcare Association of New York State, One Empire Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144; phone 518/431-7658; fax 518/431-7915; e-mail kciccone@hanys.org. Copyright © 2001 by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Copyright 2001 Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations