News in brief - Sept. 11, 2006

Patient survey, other measures coming to Hospital Compare - Group evaluating IMGs celebrates 50th anniversary - Report says state health Web sites need improvement

Patient survey, other measures coming to Hospital Compare

Between 2007 and 2009, the Hospital Quality Alliance will expand the number of quality measures they ask hospitals to report for public release at the Hospital Compare Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), HQA announced last month.

In October, the group will begin collecting data on patients' perception about physician and nurse performance and responsiveness, hospital cleanliness and noise levels, pain control and discharge planning. The data is set to be released on Hospital Compare in late 2007.

Mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients after hospital admission also will be among the new measures added to the 21 already in place, along with how well hospitals adhere to guidelines on preventing blood clots, surgical site infections and postsurgical heart attacks and pneumonia. Data on pediatric asthma care and on infections in intensive care and critical care units also will be newly reported.

The National Quality Forum has endorsed the heart-care mortality rate measures, while the others are up for the group's consideration.

Already, more than 96% of eligible hospitals submit quality information for a starter set of 10 measures related to heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia that were rolled out in 2004.

Hospitals faced a 0.4% cut in Medicare reimbursement for failing to report, and a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule finalized last month will tie payment to reporting on an additional 11 measures previously adopted by HQA and endorsed by NQF.

Group evaluating IMGs celebrates 50th anniversary

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, which was created in 1956 to evaluate the qualifications of international medical graduates entering the United States for residencies, is marking its 50th anniversary.

The organization unveiled a new logo and is hosting a series of events, including a conference in July where more than 200 experts from 24 countries discussed IMGs' impact on U.S. and global health care.

Report says state health Web sites need improvement

State health department Internet sites have improved confidentiality and accessibility since 2000 but need to do a better job of ensuring quality access to everyone, says a report in the August Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

Researchers compared content on public health Web sites operated by each state from 2000 to 2005. They looked at reading levels, disability access, non-English accessibility, and privacy and security statements.

The report found that 20% of sites in 2005 were written at an 8th-grade level, even though half of Americans read at the 8th-grade level or below.

In 2005, 34% of sites provided non-English materials, up from 10% in 2000.