Providers

In 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published Crossing the Quality Chasm, in which it identified six aims for improving our healthcare system. It called upon all healthcare organizations to commit to a shared vision of reform for a healthcare system that is: patient-centered, effective, safe, timely, efficient, and equitable. Publishing our healthcare quality performance on measures that demonstrate our commitment to improving healthcare for patients here in Wisconsin is based on these important aims.

WCHQ's philosophy on public reporting is similar to that of the National Quality Forum (NQF), IOM, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which began requiring hospitals to report Medicare data on 10 quality measures last year and posted the information on the Internet.

WCHQ's 2005 Performance & Progress Report builds on our previous work by expanding the number of measures reported and creating an interactive, web-based approach for users of this data. The measures collected and reported were developed jointly by healthcare providers and purchasers in an attempt to span the continuum of care. The purpose of our 2005 WCHQ Performance and Progress Report is to engage the concerns of patients, clinicians and purchasers of care in understanding and assessing quality factors that impact the care that patients receive and the outcomes they experience. For clinicians and patients, this information provides valuable insight into potentially effective opportunities that may improve the quality and value of care delivered and received. As with all efforts to improve, measuring and reporting performance remains on ongoing process for continuous quality improvement to be achieved.

In 2004, WCHQ experienced significant growth in collaborative partners, with the addition of 12 healthcare organizations, expanding the geography of provider membership and engagement.

MetaStar, Inc. entered in as an independent auditor and quality-improvement partner. Their role has been instrumental in validating the data-collection processes of our growing number of healthcare provider organizations to ensure uniformity of data published in our report.

If you would like to join our growing ranks of healthcare provider reporting entities, please contact us at info@wchq.org.