Here at IB, one of our pet topics (and interests) is transparency in health care, about which we've written numerous times. Now comes word from Indiana that a group of Hoosier business-folks have glommed onto a new Federal initiative which seeks to offer more information about the quality of care offered by health care providers.
Under the guidance of HHS honcho Mike Leavitt, the US Department of Health and Human Services has launched an on-line project called Value-Driven Health Care (okay, so they're not so creative at names). The project's motto ("Transparency: Better Care Lower Cost") seems to sum up its mission nicely. At the website, consumers can learn about what transparency is all about (well, at least the gummint's take on it), and even find pilot programs that may help them in their search for quality health care with understandable prices.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is a big fan, and recently signed an executive order agreeing to collect information on the quality of care provided to the state's 30,000 employees. The Indiana Health Information Exchange is touted by the HHS as a pilot project to initiate methods of reporting on quality of care. Presumably, this information will become available to the private sector, as well.
I've mentioned before that Transparency has been in its infancy...one supposes that it's now reached toddlerhood.
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