HPCI News: Iowa Health Scores now available for consumers and patients
To: Members and Selected Others
A new resource is available for Iowa consumers and patients. It is the Iowa Health Scores which is dedicated to providing the best comparative tools available for Iowans choosing health care. For now, that includes only hospitals – and a selected range of quality/patient safety ratings and metrics – but that will be expanded overtime. It is intended to be a guide and can assist consumers asking questions about care for them and their families.
The website is available at http://iahealthscores.org.
The website contains quality and patient safety scores for 50 greater Iowa hospitals which together account for over 90% of Iowans hospital costs. Scores are from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and The Leapfrog Group. Four criteria were used in selecting them: 1) already defined and national in scope; 2) meaningful to consumers and patients; 3) publically reported from recognized reliable sources or subject to some kind of audit and 4) able to display in a way that is easy to understand.
For more information please contact the HPCI office.
Paul M. Pietzsch, MPH
HPCI - IHBA Office
4430 Ashley Park Drive
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
(515) 778-6300