The Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges recognize Health Center Program awardees and look-alikes (LALs) that have made notable quality improvement achievements in the areas of access, quality, health equity, health information technology, and COVID-19 public health emergency response for the most recent UDS reporting period.
For more detailed information about the initiative, visit Community Health Quality Recognition Frequently Asked Questions.
CHQR Badges Now Available
2022 CHQR badges are now available. Health centers can view 2022 CHQR badges in two ways:
- The CHQR Dashboard, which provides an easy way to view CHQR badges health centers have achieved, as well as CHQR performance comparisons with other health centers and states. Dashboard users can also generate a list of health centers by CHQR badge type, and view state- and national-level summaries.
- Health Center Program UDS Data webpages, where CHQR badges earned by each health center will be displayed.
Health centers that have earned CHQR badges can request high-resolution badge images via the BPHC Contact Form. Select Uniform Data Systems (UDS), Community Health Quality Recognition Badges (CHQR) Badges, Requesting a badge image or certificate.
CHQR Badge Eligibility Criteria and Benchmarks
To be eligible for 2022 CHQR badges, health centers must:
- Submit complete and annual UDS data on time
- Use electronic health records (EHRs) to report on clinical quality measures and entire patient populations
- Resolve any progressive action conditions as of June 2022
- Be an active Health Center Program awardee or look-alike
The following is an overview of specific CHQR criteria for badges awarded in 2022 for the 2021 UDS reporting period. View 2022 badge images and criteria. To reference eligibility information from the previous year, view the 2021 CHQR overview on-demand recording for detailed information on eligibility criteria by badge category.
HRSA intends to award the same set of CHQR badges with similar criteria in Calendar Year (CY) 2023 on data from the 2022 UDS reporting periods.
National Quality Leader (NQL)
NQL badges are awarded to health center awardees and look-alikes that meet or exceed national benchmarks for one or more of the clinical quality measure (CQMs) groups that promote behavioral health, heart health, diabetes health, HIV prevention and care, and maternal and child health.
The following are descriptions of CQM criteria that will be used to award NQL badges for the 2021–2022 UDS reporting periods and provide health centers with clear targets to help shape quality improvement strategies. 2021-2022 CQM criteria for NQL badges were determined using various benchmarks from Healthy People 2030, other nationally recognized benchmarks, and 2020 UDS data when a comparable national benchmark was not available.
In addition to meeting the benchmark criteria outlined below, health centers must report a minimum number of patients in a clinical quality measure’s (CQM) denominator to be eligible for a National Quality Leader badge. Health centers must report at least 70 patients in each CQM denominator and meet/exceed the benchmark threshold for all CQMs in a given National Quality Leader category. The only exceptions are the HIV linkage to care CQM for the HIV Prevention and Care badge and the low birthweight CQM for the Maternal and Child Health badge, both of which require a minimum of 30 patients in the CQM denominator.
NQL – Behavioral Health
| Criteria | 2022-2023 Badge Criteria Threshold |
|---|---|
| Depression remission at 12 months | 18.2% (Top Quintile of 2020 UDS Data) |
| Depression screening and follow-up plan | 80.5% (Top Quartile of 2020 UDS Data) |
| Proportion of all patients receiving Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) | At least 5% |
| Relative percent increase in patients receiving medication-assisted treatment between consecutive UDS reporting | At least 10% |
NQL – Heart Health
| Criteria | 2022-2023 Badge Criteria Threshold |
|---|---|
| Tobacco use screening and cessation intervention | 80% (Million Hearts Goals (PDF - 976 KB)) |
| Use of aspirin or antiplatelet for ischemic vascular disease | 80% (Million Hearts Goals (PDF - 976 KB)) |
| Statin therapy | 80% (Million Hearts Goals (PDF - 976 KB)) |
| Hypertension control | 80% (Million Hearts Goals (PDF - 976 KB)) |
NQL – Diabetes
| Criteria | 2022-2023 Badge Criteria Threshold |
|---|---|
| Adult BMI screening and follow-up plan | 83.1% (Top Quartile of 2020 UDS Data) |
| Weight assessment and counseling for nutrition and physical activity for children and adolescents | 77.4% (Top Quartile of 2020 UDS Data) |
| Uncontrolled diabetes – Inverse Measure | 11.6% (Healthy People 2030 Objective) |
New NQL – HIV Prevention and Care
| Criteria | 2022-2023 Badge Criteria Threshold |
|---|---|
| HIV linkage to care within 30 days of diagnosis | 95% (Healthy People 2030 Objective) |
| Patients on PrEP: Any absolute increase in the number of patients receiving PrEP between consecutive UDS reporting years | Any increase greater than 0 |
| HIV testing: At least a 10% relative increase in the number of HIV diagnostic tests performed between consecutive years as reported in Table 6A | At least 10% |
New NQL – Maternal and Child Health
| CQM | 2022-2023 Badge Criteria Threshold |
|---|---|
| Low birth weight – Inverse Measure | 7.7% (National Vital Statistics System) |
| Early entry into prenatal care | 80.5% (Healthy People 2030 Target) |
| Weight assessment and counseling for nutrition and physical activity for children and adolescents | 77.4% (Top Quartile of 2020 H80 UDS) |
| Full childhood immunization by age two | 38.9% (National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS)) |
| Well-child visits: An absolute increase in the number of well-child (“health supervision”) visits between consecutive UDS reporting years | Any increase greater than 0 |
Health Center Quality Leader
The Health Center Quality Leader (HCQL) badges are awarded to awardees and look-alikes that achieve the best overall clinical quality measure (CQM) performance among all health centers, and are calculated using the average of the 2021 Adjusted Quartile Rankings (AQR) for all CQMs reported by a health center.
Health centers with AQR averages in the top three deciles (top 30%) are awarded the following HCQL badges:
| Decile of AQR Average | HCQL Badge Sub-Category |
|---|---|
| Top decile (top 10%) | Gold |
| 2nd decile (top 11-20%) | Silver |
| 3rd decile (top 21-30%) | Bronze |
HRSA calculates AQRs each year using the most currently available UDS data, so the thresholds between adjusted quartiles may not be consistent year-to-year. HRSA is unable to calculate these values in advance. Accordingly, thresholds for the top three deciles of AQR averages used to determine Health Center Quality Leader eligibility change each year.
Access Enhancer
The Access Enhancer badge recognizes health centers that have increased the total number of patients and the number of patients who receive at least one comprehensive service (mental health, substance abuse, vision, dental, and/or enabling) by at least 5% during consecutive UDS reporting periods (2020 and 2021 UDS).
To be eligible, a health center must achieve at least one HCQL or NQL badge, or demonstrate at least a 15 percentage point improvement in one or more CQMs between consecutive reporting periods
Eligibility is calculated using 2020 and 2021 data (Table 5: Staffing and Utilization (PDF - 271 KB)).
Updated Health Disparities Reducer
The Health Disparities Reducer badge recognizes health centers that qualify for the Access Enhancer badge and meet at least one of the following two criteria:
- Demonstrate at least a 10 percentage point improvement in low birth weight, hypertension control, and/or uncontrolled diabetes CQMs during consecutive UDS reporting years (2020 and 2021 UDS) for at least one racial/ethnic group, while maintaining or improving the health center’s overall CQM performance from the previous reporting year; and/or
- Meet the following benchmarks for all racial/ethnic groups served within the most recent UDS reporting year.
| Clinical Quality Measure | Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Low birth weight – Inverse Measure | 7.7% (Adjusted National Vital Statistics System Average) |
| Hypertension control | 60.8% (Healthy People 2030 Target) |
| Uncontrolled diabetes – Inverse Measure | 11.6% (Healthy People 2030 Target) |
Eligibility is calculated using 2020 and 2021 data (UDS Table 7: Health Outcomes and Disparities (PDF - 292 KB)).
Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality
Recognizes health centers that meet all criteria to optimize HIT services. Eligibility is calculated using 2021 UDS data (Appendix D: Health Center Information Technology Capabilities and Appendix E: Other Data Elements (PDF - 171 KB)). Health centers must meet the following five criteria:
- Adopted an electronic health record (EHR) system
- Offers telehealth services
- Exchanges clinical information electronically with key providers health care settings
- Engages patients through health IT
- Collects data on patient social risk factors
New Addressing Social Risk Factors
The Addressing Social Risk Factors badge recognizes health centers that are screening for social risk factors impacting patient health and are increasing access to enabling services. Health centers must meet the following two criteria:
- Collect data on patient social risk factors
- Increase the proportion of patients receiving enabling services between consecutive UDS reporting years
Eligibility is calculated using 2020 and 2021 data (Table 5: Staffing and Utilization (PDF - 271 KB); Appendix D: Health Center Information Technology Capabilities (PDF - 171 KB)).
New COVID-19 Public Health Champion
The COVID-19 Public Health Champion badge recognizes health center contributions to providing critical public health services to health center services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, based on 2021 UDS data (UDS Table 6A: Select Diagnoses and Services Rendered (PDF - 270 KB)). The badge is awarded to the top 10% of health centers that provided COVID-19 vaccinations and/or COVID-19 diagnostic testing to the largest proportion of health center patients as defined in the 2021 UDS Manual (PDF - 4 MB). This badge replaces the COVID-19 Data Reporter, Vaccinations, and Testing badges awarded in 2021.
Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition (PCMH)
Recognizes health centers with PCMH recognition in one or more delivery sites. PCMH badge data is updated on a quarterly basis.