FOR RELEASE December 17, 2014
Contact: Jeff Biehl 614-906-2440 jeff@hcgc.org
HEALTHCARE COLLABORATIVE OF GREATER COLUMBUS TO PIONEER WAYS FOR GREATER COLUMBUS RESIDENTS TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF THEIR CARE One of 10 communities selected for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create and sustain consumer-friendly resources that evaluate and report on local physician care Columbus, OH – The Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus is one of 10 communitybased health care alliances selected to participate in the Doctor Project, an innovative $1.3 million project from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help consumers better understand and assess the quality of health care provided by local physicians. The project provides participants with resources to develop community specific reports that measure local physicians’ adherence to known chronic disease management techniques, preventive screening and other factors. The organizations will develop—or work with existing— websites that are consumer-friendly and trusted within the local community to publish the reports. Communities will also publish their results in special issues of Consumer Reports magazine. “We appreciate physician leadership in Greater Columbus collaborating to measure and report the performance of physician practices as an essential element of improving healthcare quality,” said Jeff Biehl, president, Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus. “The Doctor Project will enable patients to make better informed choices about their care, help health care professionals see where they can improve, and allow purchasers to know the value of the care that they are buying.” MN Community Measurement (MNCM), a national leader in reporting information on the quality of care doctors provide, manages the Doctor Project through a grant from RWJF. It builds upon RWJF’s longstanding efforts to improve public reporting information on the quality, cost and value of health care. “More often than not it is easier for Americans to get restaurant reviews than to get reliable and easy-to-understand information about the quality of care their doctors are providing,” said Susan Mende, BSN, MPH, senior program officer at RWJF. “Through the Doctor Project we are aiming to change that by creating sustainable reporting systems that are essential to building a national culture of health for generations to come.”
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The organizations selected for the program include: • Common Table Health Alliance (Memphis, Tenn.) • Greater Detroit Area Health Council (Detroit, Mich.) • Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus (Columbus, Ohio) • Integrated Healthcare Association(Oakland, Calif.) • Maine Health Management Coalition (Maine) • Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (Massachusetts) • MN Community Measurement (Minnesota) • The Health Collaborative (Cincinnati, Ohio) • Washington Health Alliance (Washington State) • Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (Wisconsin) Consumer Reports expects to publish results from the Doctor Project in Greater Columbus beginning in 2016. The following healthcare organizations in Greater Columbus intend to participate in the Doctor Project: • Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians • Columbus Neighborhood Health Center, Inc. • Heart of Ohio Family Health Centers • Lower Lights Christian Health Center • Mount Carmel Medical Group • OhioHealth Physician Group Note: additional healthcare organizations are invited to participate. Comments from healthcare leadership in Greater Columbus: “We plan to collaborate with and learn from the other organizations that will also be reporting, with the hope of improving quality and transparency in Central Ohio health care.” Larry Blosser, MD Corporate Medical Director, Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians "As the landscape of healthcare delivery changes dramatically in the United States, it is critical that patients understand the quality of care that is provided to them. Not only will this help ensure that patients receive the right care at the right time, it also will help control the cost of care. Unfortunately, important clinical quality metrics are not often readily available to the consumer. The Doctor Project is a huge first step in the transparency of these quality metrics." Maria Courser, MD Medical Director of Quality, Mount Carmel Medical Group
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“OhioHealth is proud to participate in the Doctor Project, along with our colleagues in the community, as part of the Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus. By publicly sharing quality data from our primary care practices, we hope to expand the resources currently available for our community to make informed healthcare decisions. Our goal is always to provide the best care for our community. Sharing reliable quality data about the treatment of chronic diseases in the community and fostering collaboration among the clinical specialists and primary care physicians who work every day to help patients manage their health are essential to this goal. We are pleased to be part of this initiative.� Bruce Vanderhoff, MD Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, OhioHealth ### About the Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus: The Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus is a non-profit, public-private partnership. We serve as a catalyst, convener, and coordinator of healthcare transformation & learning in Greater Columbus. For more information, visit www.hcgc.org. About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook. About Minnesota Community Measurement: MN Community Measurement is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health by publicly reporting health care information. A trusted source of health care quality measurement and public reporting since 2003, MNCM works with health plans, providers, employers, consumers and state agencies to spur quality improvement, reduce health care costs and maximize value. Data on patient experience, quality health care and cost can be found at MNHealthScores.org.
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