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NCQA News Release > October 18, 2007
NCQA’S QUALITY COMPASS® DATABASE
UPDATED WITH MEDICAID PERFORMANCE DATA
Medicaid quality data available through interactive Web tool for the first time
WASHINGTON—The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) released updated data from 108 Medicaid managed care plans that demonstrate the quality of care delivered to members of those plans in key areas of clinical quality, access and service, including care for chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, timely access to health care, and consumer satisfaction.
For the first time, the Medicaid data is available in the online, interactive Quality Compass tool rather than data files. This transition offers customers increased flexibility to create and save custom reports. Additionally, users will be able to compare plan performance against regional, state and metropolitan area Medicaid benchmarks, available in Quality Compass for the first time.
NCQA’s Quality Compass, the industry’s most comprehensive database of health plan performance, provides plan-specific information about clinical quality. A broad cross-section of health plan leaders, policymakers, consultants, regulators, and others regularly refer to Quality Compass 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 included in the update 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 are now available in NCQA’s State of Health Care Quality report online at www.ncqa.org. Plan-specific Medicaid data, however, are only available in Quality Compass. The Medicaid results also include national Medicaid averages and benchmarks for all HEDIS performance measures.
Quality Compass user licenses – or expansion of existing licenses to include Medicaid quality data -- 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 and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. 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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Media Contact
Jeff Van Ness
202-955-3518
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