The Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) has set its sights on making regional health data open to the public to inform patients about the performance of hospitals and physicians.
NRHI is comprised of 40 members from across the country, all regional health improvement collaboratives, Elizabeth Mitchell, the network's president, tells MedPage Today.
The network's goal is to "do more standard public reporting of performance information of physicians, hospitals and other providers," she says. Many of the members currently have claims information and clinical data that they use to improve care and track performance, but NHRI wants to bring all that data together and share it with the public.
She says that the network will launch in about four weeks; a pilot program was launched in five regions and is now in its second phase.
In addition, Mitchell says physicians will play an important role in the efforts, especially as new payment models come into play.
"They need information; they need a seat at the table, and they need to help define what measures are valid and important," Mitchell says.
The NRHI is also a part of an initiative by the Center for Healthcare Transparency to provide half of the U.S. population with access to reliable cost and quality information by 2020.
To learn more:
- here's the MedPage Today article