Few days ago we reported that the U.S. Department of Health and Human services had launched a new website service allowing Medicare patients to rate the hospitals nationwide, thus providing a good hospital rating system designed to improve the health care system. Now we see that the major health insurance and care providers also are doing the same or similar ratings for their users such as this one from OhioHealth.
OhioHealth launched its new Quality Care Web site this week making its debut at http://www.ohiohealth.com/qualitycare_. The site contains comparative information about clinical quality measures as well as consumer satisfaction data.
"In today's healthcare environment, consumers need to be informed about quality of care and patient safety when making healthcare decisions," says Mark Montoney, MD, chief medical officer at OhioHealth. "As a leading healthcare provider, we have an obligation to educate consumers about what quality means and why it should be important to them."
OhioHealth's Quality Care site provides consumers with an overview of OhioHealth's commitment to quality, service and safety. Quality indicators, compared to the national average, are available for both the OhioHealth system and their individual member hospitals. The site includes videos, a patient safety checklist and stories from some of our patients. We've also included overviews and links to our major service lines: Cancer, Heart & Vascular, Orthopedics, Neurosciences and Women's Health.
Clinical data is derived from Hospital Compare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Web site for sharing and comparing healthcare quality based on information supplied to them by hospitals.
The consumer satisfaction data is derived from HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) results. HCAHPS was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and is a survey based on a set of questions which hospitals across the country use to gauge the satisfaction of its patients.
The OhioHealth Quality Care Web site has been developed over the past 18 months by a team with representatives from Quality, Patient Safety, Strategic Planning, Customer Service and Marketing Communications. "We have also worked closely with physician leaders across the system," adds Montoney. "As a result of the collaborative work of these groups, we have developed a quality site which represents our results at the system level, while also highlighting key accomplishments at the hospital level."
There are also modules on the site to help show you how to research a hospital's claims of quality and how to "Speak up and be a smart patient." As more data becomes available through Hospital Compare and HCAHPS, we will continue to add relevant information to the site.
"Transparency is important to us," says Montoney, "and we welcome the current public focus on quality and safety. Our Quality Care Web site provides us with the opportunity to educate and share our data and outcomes with our patients."
About OhioHealth
Named by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2007 and 2008, OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization serving and supported by the community.