advantage if you know how to make healthcare transparency work
for you.
When quality is quantified
It's not hard to figure out where the increasingly educated healthcare
consumer came from. "Healthcare shouldered them with more of a
financial burden," says Jerry Hadlock, CRNA, director of anesthesia at
St. George (Utah) Surgical Center, which has begun posting the prices
of surgeries it offers on its website (sgsc.net). "If they have to pay
more, they're going to look for a good price, quality and safety." As a
result, they're demanding and relying on available data to find it.
Medicare has been seeking out the best deals in health care as well.
Its quality measures reporting program for ASCs and value-based pur-
chasing incentives for hospitals link performance indicators to fiscal
consequences. And many states require public reporting of health-
care-associated infection rates and other patient safety data.
If you're already collecting and reporting these quality measures,
why not put them to use? "We've been discussing the idea of people
proactively posting their Medicare quality indicators on websites, or
pushing them on social media," says Joan Dentler, MBA, president
and CEO of Avanza Healthcare Strategies in Austin, Texas.
"Consumers are very, very interested in that information, and incorpo-
rating it into a marketing plan is free and easy."
What's more, it's a goal you're already striving for in the name of
patient care. "We're focused on CMS and Joint Commission surveys, we
definitely want to pass their standards," says Mr. Hadlock. "We release
infection rates, utilizing them in marketing to educate the public. If
you're doing everything you can to ensure quality and safety, there
shouldn't be too much concern" about the information that gets dis-
closed.
"Infection rate is No. 1 right now," says Ann Geier, MS, RN, CNOR,
CASC, chief nursing officer for SourceMedical Solutions. "What are
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