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Statewide Patient Experience Survey (PES)
(2006 - Present)
For more than a decade, MHQP has helped healthcare provider groups in Massachusetts hear from patients through one of our most powerful tools, the Statewide Patient Experience Survey (PES). This time-tested and valued instrument captures feedback from a large sample of adult and pediatric patients across the state. MHQP has been a leader in measuring patients’
Collecting, Aggregating and Reporting HEDIS Data with CHIA
(2019 - Present)
MHQP is working with the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) to collect, aggregate and report commercial Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures. The contract calls for MHQP to: Identify a subset of commercial HEDIS measures for reporting Collaborate with health plans in the Commonwealth to collect source data Aggregate and report data at multiple
Survey of Patient Experiences with Telehealth
(2020 - 2021)
MHQP developed and launched a first-in-the-nation survey focused on patient experience with telehealth in response to the massive shift to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this effort was to benchmark patient experiences with telehealth services, provide data to establish improvement targets, and encourage provider organizations to identify best practices. The survey
The Pain Inequities Project
(2021)
Overview: This important initiative is investigating the disparities that Black women experience when they seek diagnosis and management of chronic pain, and based on these findings, will begin to identify strategies to address these important issues. In the first phase of our work, MHQP conducted open-ended interviews with adult patients who have experienced chronic (> 6 months)
Supporting UMass Memorial’s Efforts to Reduce Race/Ethnicity Disparities in Child Well-Visits
(2021)
Overview: MHQP was contracted by UMass Memorial Healthcare to conduct interviews with patients and their families in both English and Spanish to better understand barriers and race/ethnicity disparities associated with child well-visits in its network. The findings from these interviews, summarized in MHQP's report, will be used to inform performance improvement initiatives as part of a network-wide
Advancing Understanding of Telehealth Inequities Through HPHCI’s WIFI Study
(2021 - 2022)
Overview: As part of a study conducted in partnership with the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (HPHCI), MHQP interviewed patients, providers and community leaders to better understand potential socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic inequities in telehealth usage in Massachusetts since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews explored topics such as insurance coverage of telehealth, access to
Gathering Information About Urgent Care Centers and Retail Clinics in Massachusetts
(June - September 2021)
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) sought to identify all urgent care centers (defined as those sites that serve at least all adult patients on a walk-in basis and have hours of service beyond normal weekday business hours), as well as all limited service/retail clinics licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Using available data
Measuring Outcomes in Orthopedics Routinely (MOOR)
(2019 - 2021)
MHQP is helping to develop clinical quality measures related to orthopedic surgery, specifically total hip and total knee arthroplasty. Our role in this three-year project is to elicit stakeholder input (patients, providers, payers and others) throughout the measure development process through focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and multi-stakeholder co-design workshops with both patients and providers.
Assessing Patient Experience Among MassHealth Members
(2017 - 2022)
MHQP was selected as the vendor to conduct statewide patient experience surveys of people insured through the Massachusetts Medicaid program, MassHealth, and participating in the new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and Community Partners (CP) programs. The value-based program includes patient experience as one of the metrics on which ACOs will be measured. The contract focuses on
Survey to Assess Patient Engagement Structures in Primary Care Practices in Massachusetts (in partnership with CRICO)
(2017)
MHQP completed the first-ever statewide survey of patient engagement practices in primary care. The purpose of the project was to create an inventory of activities that are believed to be helpful in enhancing patient engagement and to highlight successful patient engagement strategies for others to adopt. The outcome of this project imbued MHQP with unique knowledge
Using Human-Centered Design to Improve Pain Assessment and Management
(2017)
This groundbreaking project explored alternatives to the current ways providers assess and manage pain to better calibrate pain assessment with opioid prescribing. This effort, which was driven by members of MHQP’s Consumer Health Council, sought to involve patients in improving the traditional 10-point scale to assess pain. Working with Mad*Pow, a human-centered design firm, we created a
CHIPRA Grant to Improve the Quality of Children’s Healthcare
(2010 - 2015)
This multi-year improvement effort gave the state a unique opportunity to rally organizations interested in improving pediatric healthcare quality to pursue shared goals. MHQP’s role included: Created the Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition (CHQC), which served as a neutral convener of child health stakeholders in the state and facilitated a shared understanding of pediatric healthcare quality
Partnering with Consumer Reports to Publish MHQP Data
(2012 and 2016)
In 2012, MHQP partnered with Consumer Reports, which, for the first time in its history, published patient experience ratings of primary care physician groups in a special version of the magazine for distribution to its subscribers and newsstands in Massachusetts. The cover of the issue highlighted the story “How Does Your Doctor Compare?” and featured a special, 24-page insert
Greater Boston Aligning Forces for Quality
(2009 - 2015)
MHQP led the Greater Boston coalition for Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q), The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s multipronged effort to lift the overall quality of health care in communities across the nation. Boston was one of 16 communities selected to participate. This endeavor focused on three areas: Engaging Consumers in Health Care Launched in 2011, MHQP's
Patient Experience Survey Methodology Pilot – Short Form and Electronic
(2015)
This project piloted a short form and electronic mode of MHQP’s annual patient experience survey to evaluate the efficacy of new methodological approaches in future iterations of the survey. MHQP created, fielded and analyzed responses to a short form survey instrument that is considerably shorter than the standard PCMH CG-CAHPS 2.01 patient experience survey in use
Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition
(2011- 2014)
MHQP helped create and convened a coalition of nearly 50 Massachusetts-based organizations, which served as a neutral convener of child health stakeholders in the state, advocated for improved child health care quality and measurement, and facilitated a shared understanding of pediatric healthcare quality priorities across Massachusetts. The CHQC focused on promoting effective communication and care coordination
Practice Pattern Variation Analysis (PPVA)
(2013-2014)
MHQP brought together providers and payers from across Massachusetts to collectively identify, evaluate and take action on variations in practice patterns related to how specialty providers treat patients for similar conditions. Practice pattern variation analysis (PPVA) is an approach to understand unexplained and sometimes unwarranted provider variation in care that may negatively impact quality and cost.
Partners in Integrated Care (PIC)
(2012 - 2013)
MHQP led the Massachusetts implementation of a national initiative focused on incorporating evidence-based screening tools and early intervention services for depression and unhealthy alcohol and substance use into routine primary care for adults in the primary care office setting. The goal of the Partners in Integrated Care (PIC) model of care was to increase the identification
Recommendations for the MA Health Care Quality and Cost Council’s Three-Year Reporting Plan
(2009 - 2011)
MHQP was selected by the Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council to create a three-year plan for publicly reporting quality and cost measures on the Council’s consumer-facing website (no longer active). Areas investigated for the reporting plan included: Care settings Clinical conditions Quality measures, including measures of process, outcome, and structure as well as patient
Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Survey Field Test for NCQA and AHRQ
(2011)
MHQP oversaw the implementation of a field test of a new version of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Services Clinician & Group Survey (CG-CAHPS), specifically designed to evaluate Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs). MHQP managed the recruitment of practices to participate in the field test; executed data use agreements with participating practices; developed the survey
MassHealth Patient Experience Pilot Survey
(2008)
MHQP conducted a large-scale pilot survey of Medicaid patient care experiences in the ambulatory practice setting. The pilot surveyed over 45,000 MassHealth members who had at least one outpatient visit with a primary care provider in the preceding twelve months. The goals of the project were to: assess the methodological and operational feasibility of including the
EHR Pilot Evaluation with MAeHC
(2006 - 2008)
MHQP led the design and development of the clinical quality measurement process for a pilot project designed to evaluate the impact of health information technology, specifically the effects of implementing electronic health records (EHRs), on the quality of health care delivery. The pilot was executed in three Massachusetts communities – Brockton, Greater Newburyport and Greater North
Better Quality Information (BQI) Pilot
(2006)
MHQP was selected to be one of three collaborative quality organizations across the country that would serve as pilot sites for the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance (AQA). The goal of the pilot program was to test the feasibility of using quality measures approved by AQA to assess the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries, commercially
Rewarding Results: Aligning Incentives with High-Quality Health Care
(2002 - 2006)
MHQP led one of seven projects funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to evaluate the impact of incentives on physician performance. MHQP’s work was focused primarily on building the infrastructure necessary to enable the transparent reporting of physician performance in order to study the impact of public reporting on high quality performance. We aggregated
Statewide Hospital Patient Experience Survey
(1996 - 1998)
This was the project that spawned the creation of MHQP. Then known as the Massachusetts Health Quality Partnership, MHQP was formed in 1995 by a coalition of health, business and government leaders in Massachusetts to develop healthcare performance measurement initiatives to meet public accountability needs. With a wide call for increased transparency on healthcare performance in