ihealthbeat:Illinois Doctor Profile Web Site Includes Malpractice Data

Illinois has recently developed a new Web site that provides consumers with information about physicians in the state. According to the Springfield State Journal, they provide information on any malpractice judgments and out-of-court settlements in the last five years.

The Web site also offers information about physicians':

• Education;
• Felony convictions;

Chicago Tribune reports the several hospital safety report cards have not been published four years after Illinois passed two laws to create greater transparency on hospital safety and performance.

- The Illinois Hospital Report Card which was to be the first in the nation to document hospital-acquired infections has not been published.
- The Illinois Consumer Guide to Health Care - study of medical care at hospitals and surgery centers is two years overdue

News item from KaiserNetwork: HHS on Oct. 19 filed notice to appeal an August court decision that requires the department to release Medicare physician claims data, Consumers CHECKBOOK/Center for the Study of Services announced on Monday.

AHA News reports that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will solicit home health agencies in seven states to participate in a two-year pay-for-performance demonstration to begin in January. The states are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts and Tennessee.

Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill., last week became the first in the Chicago area to post care quality information and patient satisfaction ratings online (Northwest Community Hospital Quality Report site, reports iHealthBeat. The federal government plans next spring to release hospital care quality data.

The following is a summary of legislation by state regarding the disclosure by hospitals of their hospital infection rates.

Arkansas

Illinois Dept of Public Health has updated their quarterly nursing home inspections/complaints violations report at their Web site