Health Care:
Employers Urge Hospitals to Battle Costs Using Performance Data Systems
HEHS-95-1: Published: Oct 3, 1994. Publicly Released: Oct 12, 1994.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed three communities' experiences with hospital performance measurement systems, focusing on: (1) the purposes for which employer coalitions and hospitals are using comparative performance measurement systems; and (2) whether these systems report the information employers and hospitals need to compare outcomes.
GAO found that: (1) severity-adjusted performance measurement systems have prompted hospitals to implement efficiency improvements because employers use the data to select cost-effective providers for their health care networks; (2) because of the threat of losing the coalition employers' business, most of the hospitals have purchased the coalition-sponsored performance measurement systems; (3) initial data show a significant variation in the charges and length of stay among the participating hospitals; (4) hospitals use performance data to manage their treatment costs by shifting certain services to ambulatory settings, using less costly supplies and drugs, and reducing, substituting, or rescheduling treatments and services; (5) the use of performance measurement systems could cause hospitals to specialize in certain services which could improve the quality of care; (6) the systems' cost savings potential is difficult to assess because of the systems' recent introduction and the difficulty in isolating other factors contributing to hospital improvements; (7) the systems have data limitation and quality problems, so employers should be cautious in interpreting their results; and (8) system results alone are not sufficient measures for comparing hospitals and their cost-effectiveness.
Jan 14, 2021
-
Medicaid:
Data Completeness and Accuracy Have Improved, Though Not All Standards Have Been MetGAO-21-196: Published: Jan 14, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Jan 4, 2021
-
Medicare Severe Wound Care:
Spending Declines May Reflect Site of Care Changes; Limited Information Is Available on QualityGAO-21-92: Published: Jan 4, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 4, 2021.
Dec 22, 2020
-
Defense Health Care:
Efforts to Ensure Beneficiaries Access Specialty Care and Receive Timely and Effective CareGAO-21-143: Published: Dec 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 22, 2020.
Dec 16, 2020
-
Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports:
Access and Quality Problems in Managed Care Demand Improved OversightGAO-21-49: Published: Nov 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 14, 2020
-
Drug Pricing Program:
HHS Uses Multiple Mechanisms to Help Ensure Compliance with 340B RequirementsGAO-21-107: Published: Dec 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 14, 2020. -
Substance Use Disorder:
Reliable Data Needed for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant ProgramGAO-21-58: Published: Dec 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 14, 2020.
Dec 10, 2020
-
Indian Health Service:
Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of Provider Misconduct and Substandard PerformanceGAO-21-97: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020. -
Clinical Labs:
Studies Suggest Biopsy Specimen Misidentification and Contamination Errors Are InfrequentGAO-21-59: Published: Nov 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020.
Dec 7, 2020
-
Medicaid:
CMS Needs More Information on States' Financing and Payment Arrangements to Improve OversightGAO-21-98: Published: Dec 7, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 7, 2020.
Dec 1, 2020
-
Military Health Care:
Defense Health Agency Processes for Responding to Provider Quality and Safety ConcernsGAO-21-160R: Published: Dec 1, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 1, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here