I was sent this press release, which covers the July launch of WhereToFindCare.com

I had a quick look, and was surprised to see two hospital reviews get published immediately, not sure if they were moderated or not. Also, my one review of each hospital was enough to generate a score for future viewers, although it's pretty clear that only one survey was submitted.

In a move to further health system reform, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) Health Data Committee has selected new software that will capture significantly more health care data than ever before. The software will support an 'all claims' database that will aid in the analysis of information on visits to clinics, doctors’ offices and urgent care centers. Previously, the UDOH was able to gather only data generated through hospital, ambulatory surgery center and emergency department visits.

New Jersey's Hospital Performance Report has received it's annual update: press release here, link to the full Web report here.

The site focusses on process measures from CMS' Hospital Compare Web site.

The New Hampshire Acute Care Hospital Comparison Report was released yesterday: Full Report here (PDF), press release here (also PDF).

The Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, which oversees care at the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata (formerly "Calcutta") has announced it will begin to publish physician report cards.

Director Prodip Mitra stated that "We should know which group of doctors work hard and which group doesn't work properly. Those who work hard, their performance should be acknowledged. Sometimes only a mention of their good performance motivates doctors."

ACT published their most recent quarterly report on health care within the federal territory.

ACT Health Public Services Performance Report Quarter 4 2007-08 (PDF File - 1012k)

The report covers a wide range of data including wait times for surgery, hospital acquired infections, dental services and unplanned readmissions.

Mike Martin sends this update on two new reports from Utah:

Quality similar to national averages but costs vary widely

One of the most important decisions Utahns can make is choosing a health care facility that will provide the best care for themselves and family members. To help Utahns be better informed of their choices when seeking medical care, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) Health Data Committee (HDC) has released two new comparison reports on stroke care and gallbladder removal.

S.2863, An Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and Efficiency in the Delivery of Quality Health Care, was passed by the Mass. Legislature last week. Among other things, it includes a public reporting requirement that would document all gifts worth more than $50 from drug companies to physicians. It also covers:

· Public reporting of healthcare-associated infections;
· Public reporting of, and nonpayment for, serious reportable events;
· Establishment of Patient and Family Councils in hospitals;
· Establishment of rapid response methods in hospitals.

New Jersey's Governor Corzine just signed a package of four health care bills.

S1796/A2608 gives the Department of Health and Senior Services the authority and information needed to monitor a hospital finances. The aim is to create an early warning system that identifies distressed hospitals. Four hospitals have closed in NJ this year, and another three closed in 2007 due to financial concerns.

A2609/S1797 requires that hospitals charge no more than 15 percent above the Medicare rate when billing the uninsured.

The United Kingdom's National Health Service is responding to the publication of pest control and infestation data. Several hundred news articles appeared today, many inferring a connection between poor pest control and MRSA or other hospital acquired infection, a charge being played down by both the facilities in question and the Labour government.

From the Telegraph article:

Interesting op-ed piece from On Line Opinion on the state of health care reform in Australia.

Road map for Australian health care reform by Fred Hansen.

According to Wilson (“Quality in Australian Health Care”, 1995) one in six hospital admissions generates an adverse event, half of which is preventable and six in every 1,000 admissions are ending in a preventable death from an adverse event including complications.

We have previously covered New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's detailed look at how health plans report on physicians, resulting in an agreement from many plans, in and out of New York, committing to abide by standards of measurement and transparency in the way they rank physicians.

JS investigative editorial on transparency in nursing homes in Wisconsin.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=776444

Rosa Baier updates us:

Rhode Island's Department of Health currently reports clinical quality measures and patient satisfaction for nursing homes, home health agencies, and hospitals. The 2007 satisfaction reports for nursing homes and home health agencies have both been updated within the past 2 months:

Home health:
http://www.health.ri.gov/chic/performance/homehealth/index.php#satisfaction
http://www.health.ri.gov/media/080529a.php

Physicians have long been vocal in their concerns over the ever-growing number of report cards attempting to report on the physician's quality of care. Many of these reports are of course made available by the insurers. What's a doc to do?