A call for better quality measures from head of The Joint Commission. (cover story)

The article reports on the call of Mark Chassin, president of the Joint Commission, for better quality measures that address processes of care in national programs that promote quality in hospitals and health systems and physicians in the U.S. In an article in the "New England Journal of Medicine," Chassin and three other health care quality experts proposed criteria for evaluating such quality measures. Chassin cites the plan of the Commission to include in its accrediting requirements for hospitals only measures that meet all accountability tests.