The first national reports on United States healthcare quality and disparities.

In the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-129), Congress mandated that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) produce annual reports on healthcare quality and disparities in the United States. The National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report were first released in 2003 by the AHRQ. These reports include broad sets of performance measures to portray the nation's progress toward improving the quality of care provided to all Americans. This article provides an overview of the framework, development, and future uses of the reports by consumers, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers.