Statewide news |
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Oregon’s patient safety reporting system working wellA system to reduce medical errors in Oregon is making good progress after its second year of operation, according to a report released today by the Oregon Department of Human Services State Public Health Division. The system, operated by the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, is geared to collect information on medical errors from hospitals, nursing homes and ambulatory surgery centers. Retail pharmacies eventually will join the program. |
Clinic, physician quality data to be collectedOregon Health Care Quality Corp. and its signature project, Partner for Quality Care: Information for a Healthy Oregon, is in the early stages of a project to provide consumers information about the quality of prevention and chronic disease management efforts at the clinic and physician-group level. The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set—HEDIS®—is a standardized reporting system used by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to evaluate health plans. Partner for Quality Care has taken on the task of overseeing and managing quality measurement and reporting at the clinic level. The initial set of health care quality measures focusing on preventive and chronic disease management was identified by physicians, health plans, purchasers and consumers. It is a subset of the national Ambulatory Quality Alliance Starter Set endorsed by the Institute of Medicine. It includes process measures (for example, the percentage of patients with diabetes who receives an A1c screening in the past year) for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, depression and cancer screening. Partner for Quality Care has contracted with a neutral data vendor, Milliman, Inc., to collect and compute the measures from administrative claims using national standards (HEDIS 2008). Data will be pooled across 10 health plans, including Medicaid, to provide consolidated measures for patients seen by a clinic or physician group. Milliman, Inc., started collecting data in August. From October through April 2009, clinics and physicians will have access to the data to review and provide input about how to make reports more user-friendly and accurate. Late in 2009, the clinic-level data will be available on the Partner for Quality Care: Information for a Healthy Oregon web site. |
State epidemiologist says data supports restaurant calorie listingNews item, July 31—the Multnomah Board of County Commissioners, acting as the County Board of Health, approved a proposal to adopt the “Chain Restaurant Nutrition Labeling Policy.” Dr. Mel Kohn, Oregon state epidemiologist, praised efforts requiring some Multnomah County restaurants to post the calorie contents of menu items. Kohn, with the Oregon Department of Human Services State Public Health Division, said recent studies show that listing calorie counts on menus is an effective way to help control obesity. “Obesity is the leading emerging public health issue that we face as a state,” Kohn said. “If we don’t address the rise in obesity, attempts at fixing our health care system are likely to be unsustainable.” Kohn cited two recent Oregon reports that have recommended providing calorie information to customers at the point of purchase as a way to help prevent obesity. The “Statewide Physical Activity and Nutrition Plan, 2007-2012,” prepared by the Nutrition Council of Oregon and the Oregon Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and “Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Among Oregon’s Youth,” by the Oregon Health Policy Commission, both found health value in listing nutrition information for customers at the point of purchase. From other reports:
Find out more about the new Multnomah County rule on the county web site. Oregon in top six states with highest rates of skin cancerAccording to Skin Cancer, a new report issued by Multnomah County Health Department, Oregon has one of the highest incidence rates in the U.S. of melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, along with Washington, Idaho, Utah, New Hampshire and Vermont. In 2004, Oregon had a rate of 26.1 cases of melanoma per 100,000 age-adjusted population compared to a national rate of 17.1 cases per 100,000 age-adjusted population. Multnomah County’s rate was 25.1 per 100,000. The reasons for the higher rates in Oregon are unclear. Oregonians enjoy outdoor activities and spend their time outside during sunny weather. Higher usage of tanning beds by Oregonians, and exposure to the sun during childhood and on vacations to sunny climates could be contributing factors to the higher rates of melanoma. Lack of primary care physicians boosting health care costs, hasslesNot that long ago, as many as three-quarters of internal medicine graduates from Oregon Health & Science University started their careers as primary care physicians. More recently, only three of 31 internal medicine graduates plan to enter primary care, even though primary care internists are the most in demand. The Portland Tribune reports that the shortage of primary care physicians is increasing health care costs and difficulty getting care. Read the full story… More news linksFor more state health care news, visit the Oregon Department of Human Services web site. |
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