16 Communities, 37 Million People. One Goal.
In 2007, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Aligning Forces for Quality, a signature effort to lift the overall quality of health care in 16 targeted communities.
AF4Q asked the people who get care, give care and pay for care to work together toward common, fundamental objectives to lead to better care. The 16 geographically, demographically, and economically diverse communities participating in AF4Q together covered 12.5 percent of the U.S. population.
This site archives products and resources that distill key lessons learned by these regional alliances of providers, patients and payers as they worked to transform their local health care and provide national models for reform. For more information on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s continued to commitment to improving the quality and value of health care please visit www.rwjf.org.
Key Insights
Aligning Forces for Quality showed that progress can be made locally when all stakeholders enter the mix. In Aligning Forces communities, doctors, patients, insurers, and employers came together—in some communities for the first time. In addition to driving local change, these collaborations provided the field with several core insights:
- Local Alliances Can Effectively Improve Health Care Quality
- Care Improves When Physician Performance is Publicly Reported
- Research Demonstrates Best Practices for Displaying Information on the Cost and Quality of Health Care
- Engaging Patients in Their Own Care is Eye-Opening and Highly Valuable
- Engaging Employers is Difficult, but Possible and Can Deliver Quantifiable Results
- AF4Q Communities Led the Nation in Measuring, Improving Patient Experience of Care
Aligning Forces for Quality has been a tremendous journey. Insights we’ve gained will shape our future work to build a national Culture of Health … one that will enable all Americans to live longer, healthier lives — now and for generations to come.
MD, MBA, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation