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 Mary Brainerd, CEO and President
HealthPartners is on an important mission -- to literally transform health care. Our goal is to provide care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable and patient centered. These might seem like things that should describe health care today. However, an important national study shows that America's health care system is falling far short of this goal.
The study, published in the June 2003 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at the 30 most common acute and chronic conditions affecting people in the United States, and what researchers found is that Americans are receiving only about half of the care they should. For example, more than a quarter of a million people in Minnesota have diabetes. This disease can lead to serious complications including loss of sight and limb amputations. Despite these high risks, the study found that only one in four people with diabetes is getting the tests needed to manage the disease. The study goes on to list similar shortcomings for other conditions including asthma, heart disease, headaches, high blood pressure and back pain. This is absolutely unacceptable! We can and should expect more.
While HealthPartners far surpasses the level of care provided across the country, 90 percent of our patients with diabetes receive the screenings they need, in many other categories, we are not perfect.
Our vision of how to improve quality of care is called Pursuing Perfection. The six aims I mentioned above were established by some of the nation's leading medical experts. These six aims have become the blueprint for how HealthPartners does business.
Being patient centered means being proactive in providing care any time and in a variety of ways. If, for example, you are on vacation and your child gets sick, you can call our CarelineSM from anywhere in the nation to get around-the-clock medical advice. You can get an appointment at one of our clinics on the same day you call. You can choose to see a specialist without a referral.
Patient-centered care means that patients know the best medical practice for their condition. They know if their cholesterol should be 100 or 130 and whether they should be taking medication. They know how often they should measure their blood pressure. It means that when you arrive at a clinic for an appointment, all the caregivers in the clinic work as a team to provide the best care possible.
Perfection is admittedly difficult to achieve, but it is worth pursuing. As we look to the future, we will continue to find and implement innovative ways to transform the way we deliver care. The ultimate measure of success will be when every member and patient experiences care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable and patient centered. Since your input is so critical, I welcome your comments.
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