Health care quality: From data to accountability

The many audiences for information about,the quality of health care have different and sometimes conflicting interests and priorities. This is reflected in the diversity of current efforts to use health care:data to identify, measure, and demonstrate quality. The author surveys three of these approaches:in depth: (1) the:professional approach, which relies on the actions of private-sector, accreditation groups, trade associations and:health plans, hospitals, and other providers to:assure quality; (2) the market-driven approach, which relies on the use of quality data by health care purchasers and consumers in choosing plans and providers; and (3) the public-sector approach, which,relies on the regulatory, oversight, and purchasing actions of government at the federal, state, and local levels to assure quality. The author concludes that efforts to measure and report the quality of health care invariably: confront a variety of technical and political issues, Several observers maintain that:it is more important for participants in quality issues to reach consensus on the issues than to reach technical perfection in the way the data are handled. Important,obstacles in the technical realm include inadequate investment in sufficiently sophisticated and compatible information systems and the fact that where such systems are in place, they generally cannot be linked, But efforts, both technical and legal; are under way to overcome these obstacles, Even so, some of the is; sues of healthcare quality will remain moving targets because of constant changes in the health care environment and in technology The author closes with the hope that the various actors within the health care industry may coordinate their efforts-in dealing with these issues.