March Radio Show:
Quality in Healthcare
 

National Quality Comparative Data: Hospital Quality Alliance at www.cms.hhs.gov /hospital center/hospital quality initiatives/hospital compare or www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. Comparative information includes:

• Heart Attack Care

• Heart Failure Care

• Pneumonia Care

• Surgical Infection Prevention/Surgical Care Improvement Data

Graphs include data regarding national, state, and hospital percentages (number of times out of 100) that desired care was given.  Narrative explanations of why the information is important.  Data also available in table format, may be easier to understand.  Viewers should keep in mind, data reporting periods tend to represent a lag from the current calendar, i.e. reports from April 2006 through March, 2006.

State Quality/Patient Safety Comparative Data: Wisconsin CHECKPOINT: www.wicheckpoint.org/ go to reports

Comparative information includes:

1. Heart Attack Care
2. Heart Failure Care
3. Pneumonia Care
4. Surgical Infection Prevention/Surgical Care Improvement Data 
5. National Patient Safety Goals

• Site Marking
• Procedure Verification
• Medication Abbreviations
• Concentrated Electrolytes
• Medication Reconciliation

Tables include data regarding national average, state average, state benchmark (90^th percentile), and hospital percentages that desired care was given.  Also include category indices which represent the percentage of patients that received all of the care in the category (vs. just a specific indicator).  Data reporting period currently represents data from April, 2005 through March, 2006 for clinical care categories, January, 2006 through June, 2006 for National Patient Safety Goals.

State Cost Comparison Data:  Wisconsin Price POINT www.wipricepoint.org.  Comparative data includes costs of outpatient and inpatient procedures or discharge diagnosis.

Tables include cost data regarding all hospitals in the state, all hospitals in the state with similar volume, all hospitals in the county, and the hospital selected. Also includes payer mix information (“payer mix" refers to the proportion of total charges attributable to different types of insurance coverage). Reporting period currently represents data from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006.

Accrediting Agency Quality Data: JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. www.qualitycheck.org/.  Includes information regarding:

• Heart Attack

• Heart Failure

• Pneumonia

• National Patient Safety Goals

Tables include quality data for the selected organization that has been accredited by JCAHO. Reporting period currently represents data from July, 2005 through June, 2006.

Comparative Patient Satisfaction Data: (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov)
TENTATIVELY Available July, 2007
National Comparative data regarding patient responses to 27 satisfaction questions.  Hospitals currently participating in “dry run” collection periods, preliminary results available to hospitals, to be publicly reported later this year.