Like a growing number of its peers, the state of Massachusetts is taking transparency to a whole new level. Residents now have access to a website that allows them to directly compare the cost and quality of care at different hospitals. The mandate for this website was included in the law that required health insurance for all residents of Massachusetts.
Some of the information included in the site was previously confidential. For example, residents can now see exactly how much insurers pay hospitals for different procedures, sometimes revealing discrepancies of 15 percent to 60 percent. The website also allows comparisons of patient satisfaction ratings and patient safety measures between different hospitals.
To learn more about this initiative:
- read this Boston Globe piece [1]
- take a look at the website [2]
Related Articles:
SPOTLIGHT: A hospital CEO's pitch for transparency [3]
Study: U.S. health consumers demand transparency [4]
BCBS of Texas rolls out physician rating site [5]
TN hospitals put prices online [6]
Links:
[1] http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/12/11/healthcare_data_website_launched/
[2] http://hcqcc.hcf.state.ma.us/
[3] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/spotlight-hospital-ceos-pitch-transparency/2008-07-31
[4] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/study-u.s.-health-consumers-demand-transparency/2007-06-13
[5] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/bcbs-of-texas-rolls-out-physician-rating-site/2007-05-21
[6] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/tenn.-hospitals-put-prices-online/2007-04-24