Topic last updated Jan. 2006
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Addressing Issues
Aligning
Payment Policies with Quality Improvement: Resources
Californian
Online Report Card
www.opa.ca.gov/report_card
The report card is designed to help consumers make informed health
care decisions and select the HMO that best meets their needs. The
report card currently compares a list of HMOS, rating them as poor,
fair, good, or excellent in five different areas of quality and service
- "Staying Healthy," "Getting Better", Living
With Illness," "Doctor Communication and Services,"
and "Plan Service." The report card will soon include
information on 81 medical groups, which provide health care services
to more than 10 million Californians enrolled in point of service
plans or commercial and Medicare HMOs. Information for the report
card will come from the 2002 Consumer Assessment Survey, which measures
consumers' access to primary and specialty care, patient/physician
communication, overall care and preventive care counseling.
The
information will be available online and in printed form, and will
be offered in Spanish and Chinese, as well as English.
The
Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH)
www.pbgh.org
The
PBGH is a business coalition of 47 purchasers, seeks to improve
the quality and availability of health care while moderating cost.
Founded in 1989, the non-profit coalition is one of the most active
in the country. www.pbgh.org
Midwest
Business Group on Health
www.mbgh.org
The Midwest Business Group on Health is a coalition of employers
working together to provide leadership and knowledge to continuously
improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health services. Members
include public and private employers of all sizes in an eleven-state
region.
The
Agency for Health Research and Quality
www.talkingquality.gov
TalkingQuality offers help on developing quality report cards that
consumers will access and use. Many organizations are trying to
educate and inform the public about health care quality. Unfortunately,
nearly all are finding that the task of developing and distributing
information that people can understand and use is a huge challenge.
TalkingQuality offers expert advice and suggest approaches to overcoming
this challenge so that consumers can be given the information they
need to make sound decisions about their health care coverage and
providers.
The
National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH)
202-775-9300 or www.nbch.org
The NBCH has a membership of nearly 90 employer-led coalitions across
the United States, representing over 7,000 employers and approximately
34 million employees and their dependents. These business coalitions
are composed of mostly mid- and large-sized employers in both the
private and public sectors in a particular city, county, or region.
NBCH member coalitions are committed to Community Health Reform,
including an improvement in the value of health care provided through
employer-sponsored health plans and to the entire community.
The NBCH provides expertise, resources, and a voice to its member
coalitions across the country and represents each community coalition
at the national level. As a "coalition of coalitions,"
the NBCH spreads the tenets and practical applications of Community
Health Reform to areas where employers have yet to organize their
purchasing power. For five years, NBCH has pursued national purchasing
initiatives to offer turnkey health care products and services to
community coalitions and their member employers. The NBCH is dedicated
to making the coalition movement the vehicle for meaningful change
in the health care system throughout the United States.
Community
Health Reform is based on a clear set of principles:
- Value-based
health care purchasing - obtaining the highest quality care at
the most reasonable cost;
-
Measuring the comparative quality and efficiency of hospitals,
physicians, and health plans in the community to identify the
best value;
- Creating
incentives to provide higher-value care through integrated delivery
systems and continuous quality improvement; and
-
Improving the overall health of the community.
The
Washington Business Group on Health
www.wbgh.org/programs/cphs/disparities/solutions_series.php
Founded in 1974, the Washington Business Group on Health is a national
non-profit organization representing large employers and providing
practical solutions to its members' most important health care problems.
The Business Group represents its 160 members, primarily Fortune
500 companies and large public sector employers who provide health
coverage for more than 39 million U.S. workers, retirees, and their
families. It fosters a quality health care delivery system and treatments
based on scientific evidence of effectiveness. It hosts the Diabetesatwork.org
website www.diabetesatwork.org
(see below).
Central
Florida Health Care Coalition (CFHCC)
www.cfhcc.net
The CFHCC is working on the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans
Study - a patient satisfaction survey instrument developed by a
consortium of Harvard Medical School, Rand and Research Triangle
Institute and funded by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.
Business
and Managed Care Diabetes and Health Resource Kit
www.diabetesatwork.org
The National Diabetes Education Program in collaboration with several
partners developed this online business and managed care diabetes
and health resource. The kit will help businesses and managed care
companies to assess the impact of diabetes in the workplace. It
also provides easy-to-understand information for employers to help
their employees manage their diabetes and take steps toward reducing
the risk for diabetes-related complications such as heart disease.
Employees with diabetes or those who have friends and family members
with diabetes can also use this resource as it provides more than
20 fact sheets on diabetes-related health issues.
Diabetesatwork.org will be especially helpful for:
-
Large employers
- Small
business owners
- Human
resource and wellness professionals
- Occupational
health professionals
- EAP
representatives
- Diabetes
educators
- Managed
care wellness and benefit professionals
The
site contains assessment tools, a planning guide, choosing a health
plan, lesson plans, fact sheets and resources.
Making
A Difference: The Business Community Takes on Diabetes
ndep.nih.gov/resources/business/index.htm
This report, developed by the Business and Managed Care Work Group
of the National Diabetes Education Program is a call to action for
business leaders to become involved in workplace and community activities
to control diabetes-related complications. It provides information
on the human and economic impact of diabetes and gives suggestions
on how businesses can help employees with diabetes achieve improved
glycemic control (published 9/99).
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