September 11, 2006
MEDICAID QUALITY DATA ADDED TO QUALITY COMPASS® 2006
Comparative, plan-specific data informs analysis, improvement activities
WASHINGTON— The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today released data from 112 Medicaid managed care plans that indicate the quality of the care delivered to members of those plans in key areas of performance, including cardiac care and consumer satisfaction.
NCQA’s Quality Compass database of health plan performance provides plan-specific information about clinical quality and to health plan members, state agencies, leading employers, consultants, plans and others to make benefits decisions, analyze industry, identify opportunities for improvement and conduct market analyses. Quality Compass data also form the basis of several state and national report cards.
Among the measures of clinical and service quality added to this year’s edition of Quality Compass, File 6 are measures that address the appropriate use of imaging studies for low back pain, persistence of beta-blocker treatment after heart attacks and call answer timeliness.
Aggregate Medicaid results will be available in NCQA’s State of Health Care Quality 2006 report, to be released September 27; however, plan-specific Medicaid results are only available in Quality Compass, File 6. The Medicaid results also include national Medicaid averages for all HEDIS performance measures.
Quality Compass, File 6 is available as an electronic data file in Microsoft® Excel or SAS® formats. Quality Compass electronic data files can be ordered online through NCQA’s Web site, www.ncqa.org, or by calling (888) 275-7585.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations, recognizes physicians and physician groups in key clinical areas and manages the evolution of HEDIS, the tool the nation’s health plans use to measure and report on their performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
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