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HealthPartners signs commitment to national initiative to improve health care quality
March 8, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. In a meeting today in Minneapolis with Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, HealthPartners is joining other Minnesota businesses in signing statements of support for a national initiative aimed at improving health care quality, information and cost-effectiveness.
"We are pleased to partner with the federal government and businesses to give consumers information so they can make the best decisions about their health care," said Donna Zimmerman, HealthPartners vice president of government and community relations. "The ultimate measure of value is improved health for patients and this initiative gives significant momentum to reaching that goal," she added.
The Value-Driven Health Care Initiative is a voluntary effort to commit to four cornerstones of value-driven health care:- Health Information Technology - Using technology to share medical records securely.
- Reporting on Quality - Public reporting on the performance of doctors, hospitals and other providers.
- Reporting on Prices - Public reporting about the prices and costs of medical services.
- Incentives for Quality and Value - Providing incentives for quality and value in health services.
In related developments, the National Quality Forum is honoring HealthPartners at a ceremony in Washington D.C. today with it annual National Quality Healthcare Award (www.qualityforum.org), which recognizes a healthcare organization for improving quality and efficiency and being transparent and accountable to patients and the community. In addition, Minnesota Community Measurement (www.mnhealthcare.org) is one of six regional collaboratives selected last year to participate in Medicare's "Better Quality Information to Improve Care for Medicare Beneficiaries" project.
More information on Value-Driven Health Care is available at www.hhs.gov/transparency. For a full list of companies who have signed statements of support, visit: http://www.hhs.gov/transparency/employers/statements.html.
About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of healthcare companies serve more than one million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. It is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation, providing care, coverage, research and education to improve the health of members, patients and the community. For the third year in a row, HealthPartners is rated one of the best commercial health plans in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, NCQA's "America's Best Health Plans 2007" and is ranked "Highest in Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Minnesota-Wisconsin Region" by J.D. Power and Associates.
Contact: 952-883-5308
Pager: 612-618-1273
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