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Indiana Health Information Exchange Launches Public Reporting Website of Physician Practice Quality Scores
INDIANAPOLIS --(Business Wire)--
The Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) announced today
more than 750 Indiana physicians from 174 practice sites around the
state have agreed to publicly post their clinical quality measure scores
on the Quality Health First® Program's public reporting website.
The website lists reports, grouped by geographic regions, detailing how
well a physician practice performs in a number of clinical measures,
including the treatment of diabetes, women's and children's healthcare,
heart health and respiratory issues. Physician practices that
participate in IHIE's Quality Health First® Program (QHF) and agree to
have their scores posted on the website are included in the public
reports, which will be updated semi-annually.
(QHF Public Reporting Web Link: http://www.ihie.org/Solutions/Quality-Health-First-Program/public-reporting.php )
"QHF was developed as a tool to help physicians manage and monitor the
care provided to patients with chronic diseases," said Harold J. Apple (News - Alert),
president and chief executive officer of IHIE. "Reporting these quality
scores is a significant milestone for physician practices seeking to
demonstrate their commitment to improving the quality of care provided
to patients."
Physicians meeting the minimum patient population requirements can
participate in QHF and are then eligible to enroll in the public
reporting program. Participating QHF physicians receive reimbursements
from payers based on improvements in the measured categories.
"We support transparency in health care. Reporting the quality measures
can only improve the cooperation between patient and physician to follow
through on recommended care and improve the health of the people we
serve," Ben Park, MD, chief executive officer of American Health Network
of Indiana, LLC (AHN) said. "AHN has actively participated in QHF for
several years and our physicians' scores reflect our dedication to
cotinuous quality improvement."
The QHF Program began in 2008 as a collaborative effort between IHIE and
the Employers' Forum, as well as the Indiana Network for
Patient Care, healthcare provider groups, payers and the state of
Indiana. Through this program, physician practices are able to review
and verify the data in the quality measure performance reports provided
to them and can update the data via the information contained in the
patient medical records on file.
"The launch of the QHF Program's public reporting website is an
important milestone towards greater transparency in healthcare and
patient empowerment," said Gloria Caruthers, Director of Benefits
Strategy for Cummins, Inc., based in Columbus, Ind. "We are continually
identifying new ways to provide our employees with more information that
can help them make smart healthcare and lifestyle choices. We plan to
encourage employees to use the public reporting site as a resource in
their healthcare decision-making process and believe this additional
information will be useful and beneficial."
More information about the QHF Program methodology, measures definitions
and specification is available on the public
reporting website.
American Health Network (AHN) is Indiana's largest
physician-owned group practice with over 70 offices and more than 200
primary care physicians and specialists in Indiana and Ohio.
The organization is driven with the visionary purpose of providing
high-quality, cost-effective care, supported by a robust electronic
infrastructure in its quest to provide exceptional care to its patients.
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of
complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and
service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems,
controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical
power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA)
Cummins employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide and serves
customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a
network of more than 600 company-owned and independent distributor
locations and approximately 6,500 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.85
billion on sales of $18.0 billion in 2011. Press releases can be found
on the Web at www.cummins.com.
The Employers' Forum of Indiana is a coalition of large
public and private employers, physicians, hospitals, public officials,
insurers, health plans and other interested parties. The objective of
the Forum is to work as a community to address the challenges of the
local healthcare marketplace.
Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) is a
non-profit corporation formed in 2004 by the Regenstrief Institute,
private hospitals, local and state health departments, BioCrossroads and
other prominent organizations in Indiana. IHIE is the nation's largest
health information exchange organization, connecting more than 90
hospitals in the state to deliver clinical information to providers
securely and efficiently, along with providing information to assist
providers as they care for patients needing preventive care and
management of chronic diseases. IHIE is the lead organization in the
46-county Central Indiana Beacon Community, one of 17 national
cooperatives formed to help advance healthcare quality and
efficiency. This collaboration will help communities in Indiana identify
opportunities to measurably improve patient care. http://www.ihie.org/About/IHIE-Hospital-Network.php)
To learn more, visit www.ihie.org.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20121204006188/en/
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