How to Take Charge of Your Health Care

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How to Take Charge of Your Health Care

Posted: Nov. 1, 2007

To get the information you need to make decisions about your health care:

Find and use quality information in making health care choices. Be sure the information comes from a reliable source.
Work together with your doctor and other members of the health care team.
Be sure to ask questions.
Ask your doctor what the scientific evidence has to say about your condition.
Do your homework; go online or to the library to find more information about your condition.

Columbia St. Mary's participation in select initiatives enables individuals to become more informed consumers of health care. Columbia St. Mary’s was one of the first hospital systems in Wisconsin to publish measurements of their efficiency and effectiveness, demonstrating quality vs. cost.

Understanding health care quality
Quality health care means getting the health care services you need, when you need them, and using the appropriate test or procedure to achieve the best possible results.

Improving health care quality is a team effort, and it is ongoing on many levels. To succeed, every part of a health care system must become involved, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, other providers, government and non-government organizations and you, the patient.

One way to assess and track quality of care is by using measures that are based on the latest scientific evidence. A health care measure clearly defines which health care services should be provided to patients who have or are at risk for certain conditions. Measures also set standards for screening, immunizations, and other preventive care.

Check quality reports
Reports cards and other quality reports include consumer ratings, clinical performance measures, or both. They can help you select the right treatment and the right health care provider based on what is most important to you. You may be able to get quality reports from:

Your employer: Ask your personnel office for information on health plans.
Health plans: Ask the plan's customer service office about quality reports.
Other health care providers: Hospitals, nursing homes and community health clinics may have quality reports.

Several government agencies publish quality reports and other types of quality information. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a quality tool that helps you compare the care provided by hospitals in your area. This tool is available online at http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

Accreditation
Accreditation is another indicator that can be used to judge quality. Accreditation is a "seal of approval" given by a private, independent group. Health care organizations must meet national standards, including clinical performance measures, in order to be accredited.

Accreditation reports present quality information on hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. For example, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) prepares a performance report on each hospital that it surveys. Another group, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), rates health plans like HMOs.

If you need help in finding quality reports, accreditation reports or other types of quality information, check with your local library or your local or state health department. You can find your state health department listed in the blue pages of your phone book.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

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