Community health centers can adopt national performance standards and improve their quality of care, improving the ability of healthcare purchasers policy makers and consumers.
Results of a recent study concluded that because health centers show the ability to address quality standards, they have the potential to be factored into decisions made as more healthcare payers shift to performance-based purchasing.
The study was conducted by researchers from The George Washingon University Medical Center and was published in the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. The study focused on three community health centers in New York, Miami and Washington that primarily serve medically underserved populations.
The researchers conducted the analysis of performance under a quality improvement program that used standard quality benchmarks that were selected to reflect the health risks of the populations served by the clinics. Reseachers found the health centers, with appropriate support and technical assistance, were able to readily adopt and report their performance using national standards, and their results generally exceeded national performance benchmarks for ambulatory care.
"This evaluation not only demonstrates the effective role health centers play in addressing the healthcare needs of the nation's most vulnerable populations, but also their consistent ability to improve on the high quality of care that they already provide," said Peter Shin, associate research professor in the department of health policy at the George Washington University Medical Center.
The study was funded by United Health Foundation, an independent not-for-profit health foundation funded by UnitedHealth Group, a Minnetonka, Minn.-based payer. The foundation also provides grants to the three health centers and others to help improve healthcare access and quality.
As a condition of the grants awarded to the three health centers, they were required to report under a quality performance system, with measures from the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance, that enables purchasers to view and compare quality. Also, patient satisfaction surveys, modeled after the national Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, were conducted to assess patient satisfaction.
The reports from the health centers measured preventive care, the quality of care furnished to patients with diabetes and asthma, the frequency of prenatal care HIV screening and patient satisfaction levels. Researchers found that performance met or exceeded the national average for all categories in relation to expected performance.
"This important study shows that community health centers are willing and able to be held accountable for assessment of their clinical performance based upon national standards," said Reed Tuckson, MD, a board member with the United Health Foundation. "It also indicates community health centers can and do provide vital, high-quality healthcare that meets - and often exceeds – national benchmarks, despite the special challenges these clinics face."