Every year the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality evaluates the level of quality in American health care. The report generally contains useful data. (AHRQ Report) In general, the Agency found that overall quality was improving slightly, patients were having more difficulty getting access to care and disparities across income and ethnic groups were not lessening. Of particular concern were improving quality in diabetes care, maternal and child care and lowering rates of adverse events or errors as a result of medical care. The overall quality of care is best in a group of states in the upper Northeast, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and in the upper Midwest, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas, and lowest in the south-southwest area, including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Surprisingly, California ranks low on a number of measures. These regional differences are almost certainly linked solely to socioeconomic factors and may not say much about the competency of health care providers in these areas. But it does reflect a need to take stronger action to ensure that poorer patients get appropriate care. This is not always or even often a financial issue, but one relating to personal responsibility for good health behaviors. Across common quality measures, some were improving, usually because they are measures CMS uses in its pay-for-performance programs, but some are worsening also. The worsening of some diabetes care measures is surprising, given the emphasis on improving care for that disease. Much of the report is a summary of performance on the hundreds of measures included in analyzing quality.
✅ Subscribe via Email
About this Blog
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at [email protected].
Healthy Skeptic Podcast
Research
MedPAC 2019 Report to Congress
June 18, 2019
Headlines
Tags
Access
ACO
Care Management
Chronic Disease
Comparative Effectiveness
Consumer Directed Health
Consumers
Devices
Disease Management
Drugs
EHRs
Elder Care
End-of-Life Care
FDA
Financings
Genomics
Government
Health Care Costs
Health Care Quality
Health Care Reform
Health Insurance
Health Insurance Exchange
HIT
HomeCare
Hospital
Hospital Readmissions
Legislation
M&A
Malpractice
Meaningful Use
Medicaid
Medical Care
Medicare
Medicare Advantage
Mobile
Pay For Performance
Pharmaceutical
Physicians
Providers
Regulation
Repealing Reform
Telehealth
Telemedicine
Wellness and Prevention
Workplace
Related Posts
Commentary
April 19, 2024
Another Body Blow to Gender Dis-Affirmation
A review from Britain reveals the complete lack of any scientific evidence to support the…
Commentary
April 18, 2024
Progress Against Cancer
The US has made particularly good progress in treating cancer and limiting mortality, but much…
Commentary
April 17, 2024
I Am Done With Coronamonomania, Part 4, Vax Safety Edition
A somewhat lengthy examination of recent studies related mostly to vax safety, the results of…