Editor Note: According to this new database, Georgia has improved its health care quality from "weak" to a low "average."
/PRNewswire/ -- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's annual release of state-by-state quality data has been expanded to include new data on health insurance, including data on health care quality categorized by source of payment, including private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and those without insurance.
The new health insurance section allows users to compare payer-specific quality rates as well as differences among payers. For example, a state can compare the quality of care received by Medicaid or uninsured patients with that received by these same patients nationally. In addition, a state can assess whether its insurance-related disparities are larger or smaller compared with the nation as a whole.
The 2009 State Snapshots provide state-specific health care quality information, including strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. State-level information used to create the State Snapshots is based on data collected for the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report. Overall, states get mixed reviews for the quality of care they provide. As in previous years, AHRQ's 2009 State Snapshots show that no state does well or poorly on all quality measures.
Maine, Maryland, Wyoming, South Carolina and the District of Columbia showed the greatest improvement. The five states showing the smallest improvement were North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Nebraska and Washington State. For each state, specific clinical conditions could be identified that account for different rates of improvement.
"The addition of the insurance information to the State Snapshots adds one more dimension to the picture of health care quality and disparities in individual states and regions," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "The 2009 State Snapshots continue to evolve into an invaluable resource for state officials and other stakeholders."
The 2009 State Snapshots summarizes health care quality in three dimensions: types of care (preventive, acute and chronic care), settings of care (hospitals, ambulatory settings, nursing homes and home health care) and clinical conditions (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, maternal and child health and respiratory disease). There are also special focus areas on diabetes, asthma, Healthy People 2010 objectives, clinical preventive services and disparities.
Additional features in the 2009 State Snapshots provide more ways to analyze the quality of health care for each state compared with all states, as well as with states in the same region. New and enhanced features include enhanced sections on asthma care, diabetes care and health care disparities.
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Showing posts with label quality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quality. Show all posts
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
On-Line Petition Launched in Support of a National Health Insurer Code of Conduct
(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to ensure and protect patient access to approved medical treatments, a petition in support of a Health Insurer Code of Conduct was launched today by the Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA). The petition calls for the adoption of a Code of Conduct, currently being drafted by the American Medical Association, which will address restrictive practices of the managed care industry which undermine the integrity of doctor-patient relationships.
The AMA House of Delegates passed a resolution in November of 2008 to draft and adopt a National Health Insurer Code of Conduct. According to the resolution, the AMA code will set forth clear and concise principles addressing both medical policies and payment issues, as well as create a mechanism to monitor compliance by managed care companies.
Currently, while many managed care organizations maintain appropriate focus on quality measures, some managed care plans and pharmacy benefit managers employ aggressive tactics to cut costs, while at the same time shifting blame for consequences of actions such as premium increases and cost-sharing strategies onto other parties in the healthcare industry.
“In Georgia, the cost-control efforts implemented by managed care health plans have created the widespread perception that such plans are more interested in saving money than providing quality health care,” said Dr. Christina Mayville, a neurologist in Macon, GA. “Unlike many other stakeholders in the health care industry, however, there is no overarching standard of conduct for health plans. The Alliance for Patient Access is taking the lead to collect support for a Code of Conduct to empower health plans to voluntarily agree to abide by principled guidelines and specific protocols regarding certain issues that are particularly prone to abuse.”
AfPA’s petition calls for autonomy between doctors and managed care companies, as well as full transparency regarding a patient’s prescribed course of care. This includes any relationships with outside parties that might influence doctors’ decisions. AfPA also calls for upholding business integrity, with fees reflecting acceptable rates and prescribed courses of treatment resulting from medically-based, not fiscally-driven, decisions. Finally, AfPA’s first priority remains patients’ access to quality medical care that ensures their safety and welfare.
“A Code of Conduct for the managed care industry is highly overdue,” said Dr. David Charles, AfPA Chairman. “The petition is a way for us to show managed care companies that we will not stand by as they attempt to interfere with the course of treatment prescribed to patients by their doctors. A Health Insurer Code of Conduct will help protect patients by regulating the practices of managed care companies and holding them accountable to the same standards to which the rest of the healthcare industry already adheres.”
The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution in November 2008 to adopt a Health Insurer Code of Conduct, which it is currently drafting. The AMA will vote to adopt the code in June.
The AfPA petition for a Health Insurer Code of Conduct can be found at www.insurepatientaccess.org.
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The AMA House of Delegates passed a resolution in November of 2008 to draft and adopt a National Health Insurer Code of Conduct. According to the resolution, the AMA code will set forth clear and concise principles addressing both medical policies and payment issues, as well as create a mechanism to monitor compliance by managed care companies.
Currently, while many managed care organizations maintain appropriate focus on quality measures, some managed care plans and pharmacy benefit managers employ aggressive tactics to cut costs, while at the same time shifting blame for consequences of actions such as premium increases and cost-sharing strategies onto other parties in the healthcare industry.
“In Georgia, the cost-control efforts implemented by managed care health plans have created the widespread perception that such plans are more interested in saving money than providing quality health care,” said Dr. Christina Mayville, a neurologist in Macon, GA. “Unlike many other stakeholders in the health care industry, however, there is no overarching standard of conduct for health plans. The Alliance for Patient Access is taking the lead to collect support for a Code of Conduct to empower health plans to voluntarily agree to abide by principled guidelines and specific protocols regarding certain issues that are particularly prone to abuse.”
AfPA’s petition calls for autonomy between doctors and managed care companies, as well as full transparency regarding a patient’s prescribed course of care. This includes any relationships with outside parties that might influence doctors’ decisions. AfPA also calls for upholding business integrity, with fees reflecting acceptable rates and prescribed courses of treatment resulting from medically-based, not fiscally-driven, decisions. Finally, AfPA’s first priority remains patients’ access to quality medical care that ensures their safety and welfare.
“A Code of Conduct for the managed care industry is highly overdue,” said Dr. David Charles, AfPA Chairman. “The petition is a way for us to show managed care companies that we will not stand by as they attempt to interfere with the course of treatment prescribed to patients by their doctors. A Health Insurer Code of Conduct will help protect patients by regulating the practices of managed care companies and holding them accountable to the same standards to which the rest of the healthcare industry already adheres.”
The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution in November 2008 to adopt a Health Insurer Code of Conduct, which it is currently drafting. The AMA will vote to adopt the code in June.
The AfPA petition for a Health Insurer Code of Conduct can be found at www.insurepatientaccess.org.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage
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