PBGH Hosts Consumer Decision Support Tools Conference
Purchasers, industry stakeholders, and vendors met in San Francisco recently to hear experts discuss successful strategies to engage and support informed decision making by consumers.  The program opened with evaluations of cost calculators and treatment option decision support tools; then the discussion focused on ways to market decision support services to employees.   

"Even buying a cup of coffee nowadays is a complicated decision that can be made simpler by effective presentation of options and explanation", said Ted von Glahn, Director of Consumer Engagement and Performance Information for PBGH, and the principal investigator on a project to assess existing tools.  The project's work product is an evaluation of an array of consumer decision support tools that are provided by health plans and other consumer health information vendors. 

Leading vendors showcased products that are now available in the marketplace or that are being tested for upcoming release.  Health Dialog, a recognized leader in treatment option support, reported its case studies about helping people choose among comparable treatments when confronted with "preference sensitive" treatment options.  Intuit invited purchasers to inform the just-in-time development of a tool intended to do for medical cost management what TurboTax did for tax preparation: simplify a complex set of rules into user-friendly workflow processes.

The discussion lightened during lunch when Alana Conner, PhD of Stanford University shared an entertaining perspective of how "choices" are represented in country music vs. rock music.  Through her humorous presentation, Dr. Conner effectively made the point that choice is highly valued by higher educated, more mobile and affluent consumers.  In contrast, many consumers  with less education may discount the value of having choices.  These marked differences in consumer segments' appetite for choice underscore the employer's need to tailor decision support to the needs of the workforce. 

Read a summary of the symposium here.  The full project report is available here.

PBGH's Breakthrough in Chronic Care Program (BCCP) Gets a New Name and Mission: Introducing the California Quality Collaborative
The Breakthroughs in Chronic Care Program (BCCP) was re-named the California Quality Collaborative to reflect a broader scope of programming - starting with chronic care and expanding to the areas of patient experience, clinical improvement, and efficiency in all outpatient settings. The organization is supported by a state wide leadership alliance of healthcare purchasers, providers, and health plans; all working toward a shared goal of accelerating quality improvement.

With trusted programs customized for the needs of California, CQC enables physician groups to take a leadership role in transforming healthcare delivery across the state. The programs accelerate the spread of best practices and evidence-based, patient-centered care. All three sectors benefit: physician groups collectively learn the essential skills they need to implement quality improvement, health plans improve care for their members while controlling costs for all HMO and PPO patients, and purchasers can offer the highest value, most effective health benefits for a healthier workforce.

CQC programs align with metrics in place in California such as publicly reported quality measures and pay for performance incentives. More than 70 physician groups throughout California have already benefited since BCCP's inception in 2004. CQC is staffed by the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), and is endorsed by the California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG) and leading health plans in California including Blue Shield, Blue Cross, and Health Net.

In 2007, CQC is enrolling physician groups and IPAs in the Optimizing EHR Implementation course, Improving Patient Experience Collaborative, Efficiency Collaborative, COPD teleconference series and the Population Management Project. For physician groups and IPAs that are working toward the first step in quality improvement, CQC annually offers the Optimizing Performance Series. Please visit www.calquality.org for more information.

Consumers Have Multiple Venues for Accessing California Hospital Performance Information
Three initiatives, all focused on hospital performance reporting, bring consumers more robust options for accessing information about hospitals. 

• Since 2000, Leapfrog (led in California by PBGH as the regional roll-out manager) has been a respected voice in the national reporting of patient safety in hospitals. 
• The California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART) brings together PBGH and other relevant stakeholders in California to collect and report validated measures, version 1 of which was released earlier this year.
• Early work led by PBGH to report hospital CABG mortality rates and the subsequent Senate Bill 680 have resulted in a recent report of surgeon and hospital performance published by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. 

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