MHQP Reengages with Clinical Quality Data, Releases HEDIS Results

(June 11, 2020)

MHQP is pleased to announce its publication of clinical quality performance results for primary care practices across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, representing care provided to commercially-insured patients in 2018 and based on HEDIS® data aggregated across five Massachusetts health plans.

HEDIS (the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) is a rich data source essential to monitoring the performance of the Massachusetts health care system. It is a comprehensive set of standardized performance measures designed to provide purchasers and consumers with the information they need for reliable comparison of provider performance. HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Patients can view these HEDIS/clinical quality results by going to MHQP’s consumer website, www.healthcarecompassMA.org. On this site, patients can review information about the performance of their local medical practices on a range of medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma care, pediatric care, and antidepressant medication management.

These data include practices’ performance on preventative care, which is particularly important to the long-term health of patients.

“We are concerned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients are foregoing critical screening visits, such as cancer screenings,” said MHQP CEO and President Barbra Rabson. “We encourage all patients to seek out these services with their primary care doctor once practices open up again for onsite visits.”

This report was completed in partnership with the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). CHIA is an independent state agency charged with monitoring the Massachusetts healthcare system and providing reliable information and meaningful analysis for those seeking to improve health care quality, affordability, access and outcomes. CHIA published results on its website on June 2.

MHQP has been publicly reporting on clinical quality on a periodic basis over the past 15 years. This project has given MHQP an opportunity to once again present clinical quality performance data alongside patient experience data collected via its annual survey assessing patient experiences in primary care throughout the state.

“For many years, MHQP was well-known as the transparent reporter of HEDIS clinical quality measures in Massachusetts,” said Rabson. “We are grateful to CHIA for the opportunity to re-enter this space and we thank the participating health plans for their ongoing collaboration.”