iHealthBeat: Minnesota’s Legislature approved a bill requiring electronic prescribing. Their goal is to link provider payments to care coordination and performance.

Beginning in 2011 pharmacists, physicians and others who prescribe/dispense medication in Minnesota will have to use the electronic systems.

In July 2010, the bill will require the state to publish comparative prices and quality information for groups of services.

iHealthBeat: A new Minnesota Web site (carol.com) recently launched, allows area residents compare the cost and quality of more than 350 health services from local, competing health care providers and select a care provider. The site also lets users apply their health insurance benefits and view base prices and estimated in-network and out-of-pocket costs for health care services.

Fierce Healthcare reports that Aetna and WellPoint have begun to include provisions in some contracts that they will not pay for (or let patients be billed for) care related to 28 "never events" compiled by the National Quality Forum. Aetna is including provisions in contracts with hospitals which bar payment for all 28 never event.

The Minnesota Medical Association yesterday published a report examining and evaluating Minnesota's pay for performance programs.

As reported in FierceHealthcare, Minnesota hospitals will stop billing both public and private insurers for 27 preventable adverse events, including pressure ulcers, objects left inside surgery patients and medication errors, all "never events" identified by the National Quality Forum. Along with ambulatory surgery centers, the hospitals must already report never events to the state under an existing law.

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

Arkansas

As reported in iHealthBeat, Minnesota hospitals in 2009 will begin to publicly report hospital-acquired infections as part of a health budget bill signed last month. The reporting requirement calls for Minnesota to follow National Quality Forum guidelines that will be released this summer. It is unclear whether hospitals will report "outcome" measures -- such as infection rates among patients -- or whether they will report "process" measures -- such as how often hospitals use proven prevention measure.

Fairview Health Services has joined other care providers in offering comparative quality-of-care statistics for its hospitals and clinics. reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Fairview Health Services is the latest to provide new detail about quality and safety on its most common surgical and clinical procedures and comparing them with state and national averages, even when Fairview lags.

Read full news item: StarTribune.com