About the Work Group

Purpose

The purpose of the Work Group on Consumer Health Information was to provide information and assistance to support a variety of public and private sector efforts aimed at improving the communication of health care quality information to consumers.

Sponsorship and Background

The Work Group convened as a result of a National invitational conference in December 1998 sponsored by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), formerly Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The conference was entitled "Making Quality Count: Helping Consumers Make Better Health Care Choices." Conference summaries are available at http://www.hcfa.gov/events/qualsum.htm.

The Work Group was disbanded following the December 2000 conference, "Informing Consumers about Health Care Quality: New Directions for Research and Action" in Bethesda, Maryland.

Initial funding for the Work Group was provided by HCFA, now CMS. Administrative coordination for the Work Group was provided by AHRQ with support from OPM.

Work Group Composition

The Work Group was an interdisciplinary group of researchers, purchasers, consumer advocates, health care providers, and government officials. Staff support for the Work Group was provided by Westat and the Quality Measurement Advisory Service (QMAS).

Project Sponsors:

Nancy Foster, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
David Miranda, Health Care Financing Administration
Dean Schleicher, Office of Personnel Management
Beth Kosiak, Health Care Financing Administration
Abby Block, Office of Personnel Management
Howard Holland, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Priscilla Holman, Centers for Disease and Control
Sandy Robinson, University of Melbourne (formerly of AHRQ)
Ellen Tunstall, Office of Personnel Management

Project Staff:

Samantha Sheridan, Westat
Dale Shaller, Quality Measurement Advisory Service
Lise Rybowski, The Severyn Group
Kerri Yoder, Westat
Rachel Hauth, Westat
Elizabeth Hoy, Westat

Members and Sponsor Participants:

John Abraham, American Federation of Teachers
Laura Aiuppa, National Committee for Quality Assurance
Diane Archer, Medicare Rights Center
Christina Bethell, Foundation for Accountability
Patricia Drury, Buyers Health Care Action Group
Steve Findlay, National Institute for Health Care Management
Beth Ginzinger, Ford Motor Company
Judith Hibbard, University of Oregon
Sam Ho, PacifiCare of California
Charlie Inlander, People's Medical Society
Alan Levy, Food and Drug Administration
Jeanne McGee, McGee and Evers Consulting, Inc.
Christine Molnar, Community Service Society of New York
Lisa Payne-Simon, California Health Care Foundation
Ruth Perot, Summit Health Institute for Research and Educaction
Prema Popat, Massachusetts Division of Medical Assistance
Shoshanna Sofaer, Baruch College
Renee Turner-Bailey, Ford Motor Company
Christina Zarcadoolas, Brown University

Charge of the Work Group

The charge of the Work Group was to oversee the following tasks:

1. Develop and Launch a Work Group Web Site: Provide a convenient and effective tool to assist various audiences in identifying and gaining access to multiple, current resources that can help them plan and implement consumer-oriented health care quality information projects and related activities. The site provides links to many existing resources, include multiple examples of "practice innovations", and provide directories and links to organizations that can be of further assistance. It does not recommend any single "best" practice but points to successful innovations that can be illustrative of effective methods of communicating health care quality information to consumers.
2. Develop a Research and Action Agenda: Identify and prioritize topics in need of further research and development, as well as specific actions and initiatives outside of research that should be undertaken to advance consumer health care quality information efforts. A National conference was held to provide a forum for a focused discussion involving key opinion leaders in the field about the recommendations presented in the Work Group "Research and Action Agenda."

A byproduct of these tasks was for the Work Group to serve as a vehicle for exchanging and disseminating timely information and updates among consumer health care information research and applications leaders. Examples of additional information that were exchanged include:

• Inventory and regular updates on implementation projects.
• Contact lists and profiles of individuals and organizations engaged in implementation and research.
• New consumer information research and evaluation findings.

Work Group Timeline

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