The Future of Quality Starts with Anticipation
September 29, 2026Share:
As I reflect on NAHQ next 2026, one word keeps coming to mind: anticipation.
We gathered virtually for two and a half days to explore what’s next for healthcare Quality & Safety. We heard from healthcare leaders across the discipline about the forces reshaping our industry, from workforce transformation and financial pressures to artificial intelligence, policy, accreditation and patient safety.
But looking back, I believe NAHQ next was about something bigger than the issues themselves. It was about how we, as Quality professionals, prepare to lead through what comes next.
During one of the most interesting conversations of the conference, our CEO, Stephanie Mercado, joined Joint Commission President and CEO Jonathan Perlin and COO James Merlino to discuss the past, present and future of Quality & Safety. Their reflections offered a powerful progression: from inspection, to improvement, to infrastructure; from managing risk and monitoring performance to anticipating what healthcare will require next.
That progression resonated with me.
Historically, Quality was focused on Quality assurance and Quality control (QA/QC). Even as Quality Improvement (QI) started to take hold, much of the focus was still reactive; responding to the results of compliance audits or safety events. The future demands a different approach. Quality is not simply about responding to what has happened. It is about anticipating what could happen and building the capabilities to make what should happen possible.
That is why the word anticipation matters.
We must anticipate how AI will change the way care is delivered and the skills our workforce needs. We must anticipate emerging risks and opportunities before they become crises. We must anticipate the needs of patients, caregivers, organizations and communities in an increasingly complex healthcare environment.
And we must recognize that Quality cannot remain the responsibility of a department or a select group of professionals.
NAHQ is increasingly focused on defining the role each person plays in advancing Quality & Safety. The future requires a workforce in which everyone understands how their skills, behaviors and decisions contribute to better outcomes.
Technology will be an important part of that future. But it cannot be the whole future.
The conversation at NAHQ next repeatedly brought us back to something more fundamental: humanity. The purpose of better data, stronger competencies and smarter technology is ultimately to help people deliver safer, more effective, more compassionate care. As Dr. Perlin so powerfully described it, the goal is care that is safe, effective and compassionate without the need for an advocate.
That, to me, is the heart of Quality.
NAHQ next may have been designed to prepare us for what’s next. In retrospect, it reminded me that preparing is not enough. I encourage you to continue exploring these important conversations through the NAHQ next on-demand experience. Whether you joined us live and want to revisit a session or were unable to attend, these insights can help us think more intentionally about the future we are working together to shape.
We have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to anticipate it, shape it and lead it.
The future of Quality starts now.
April Taylor, FACHE, CMQ/OE, CLSSBB, CPPS, CPHQ
NAHQ President
There is a roadmap to healthcare Quality excellence. NAHQ can help you follow it.
The NAHQ Healthcare Quality Competency Framework™ serves as the industry-standard, defining the Quality Safety competencies, skills and behaviors required to advance Quality & Safety excellence across the healthcare continuum.
This expert-created, data-informed framework is continuously validated and updated by NAHQ to ensure it provides the most up-to-date information, guiding professionals, organizations, and the healthcare industry to create a competent, coordinated workforce prepared to deliver healthcare excellence.
