Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation
Established in 2000, the Oregon Healthcare Quality Corporation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and affordability of health care in Oregon by leading community collaborations and producing unbiased public reporting information. The Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation works with the members of the community—including consumers, providers, employers, policymakers, and health insurers—to improve the health of all Oregonians and finds solutions to Oregon's health care challenges, such as reducing unnecessary emergency department visits.
Summary of Activities:
In 2007, the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation became one of the 16 Robert Wood Johnson Aligning Forces for Quality Programs tasked with developing what is now Oregon's most comprehensive claims database system. The Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation collects primary care provider performance data for a number of quality indicators and provides results with local and national benchmarks over a secure portal. The data collected, only visible to providers, allow for the identification of gaps in care and places where followup needs to occur. Providers can use these tools to identify patients who are not receiving the care they need, allowing them to more effectively manage the health of their populations. The Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation's database currently includes more than 2.6 million, or 75 percent, of publicly and privately insured Oregonians. This allows the collaborative to have a statewide impact on the communication and coordination of care across Oregon.
As a result of its work, combined with the efforts of community members and stakeholders across the State, the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation reported a decrease in potentially avoidable emergency department visits from the prior year. Avoidable emergency department visits, as a percentage of total emergency department visits, have dropped from 16.8 percent to 13.9 percent among children. In the same time period, the percentage of avoidable emergency department visits among adults also decreased from 11.0 percent to 10.1 percent.1
Alignment to the National Quality Strategy (NQS):
Efforts such as these promote effective communication and coordination of care using the levers of Public Reporting, Measurement and Feedback, and Health Information Technology.
Contact:
The Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation Board of Directors includes 25 members representing health plans, physicians, hospitals, policymakers, consumers, and employers. Learn more about the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation Board.
1Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation. Information for a Healthy Oregon: Statewide Report. August 2013. Accessed May 2014. http://www.q-corp.org/resources/browse/type/14/order/ASC.
