Consumers, Employers and Labor Groups Unite to Establish Guidelines on Physician and Hospital Performance

A coalition of over 25 leading consumer, employer and labor organizations – The Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project –announced on January 12th guidelines to promote rapid, industry-wide adoption of performance measures to help patients compare the relative quality and cost of care provided by hospitals, physicians and health care systems.

The Disclosure Project's Guidelines for Purchaser, Consumer and Health Plan Measurement of Provider Performance call for:

- Scientifically-Valid Performance Measures endorsed by the National Quality Forum's consensus process: The National Quality Forum's (NQF) performance indicators should serve as primary measures. If NQF has not endorsed a measure for an aspect of health care performance, measures endorsed by national accrediting organizations should be used. If supplemental measures are implemented, they must be scientifically grounded, regularly updated and reviewed by provider and consumer groups.

- Transparency of Provider Rating Methods: Provider rating methods, including detailed measurement specifications and algorithms used to combine scores and/or group providers into performance tiers, should be publicly disclosed.

- Coordinated Data Collection: If collection of data about performance creates a significant burden for providers, data collection should be coordinated across health plans and other purchasers who share hospitals and physicians within their contracted networks.

Click here to link to the full media release.

Click here to link to the Guidelines for Purchaser, Consumer and Health Plan Measurement of Provider Performance.

Click here to view the endorsing organizations.