ASSESSING QUALITY OF CARE VIA HEDIS-3.0 - IS THERE A BETTER WAY

Patients, employers, and third-party payers are all calling for improv ed measures of health care quality. This has led to the development of ''report cards,'' assessments that are many times applied not just to health plans but also to providers. One attempt at creating a standar dized set of quality and effectiveness measures is the Health Plan Emp loyer Data and Information Set (HEDIS). The HEDIS measures are based p rimarily on analyses of administrative data sets. Problems with HEDIS measures, including the probability that plans will use different data collection methods and a lack of risk adjustment, may result in incor rect conclusions about the quality of care delivered by various provid ers. An alternative method of standardized surveys is proposed that wi ll overcome many of the limitations of the current HEDIS measures, pro vide outcome rather than process data, and provide data for developing interventions to improve quality.