HEDIS reporting allows for identification of important trends in health care quality
HEDIS reporting activities are important for a number of reasons, including the evaluation of health care quality across a range of standards. This past year, the administrator of the HEDIS standards, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, used data collected through HEDIS reporting to identify the following health care quality trends in their State of Health Care Quality Report 2013.
Overuse of Antibiotics
HEDIS data indicated that health care providers continue to overprescribe antibiotics. This is a worrisome trend because overuse of antibiotics can contribute to antibiotic resistance in the population. When this happens, it is more difficult to cure infections. Antibiotic resistance contributes to illness in 2 million people and an estimated 23,000 people in this country each year.
Fighting Childhood Obesity
For the second year in a row, there has been increased implementation of measures aimed at fighting childhood obesity. These measures include body assessments and nutritional counseling. Progress in this area is important because reducing childhood obesity can also help reduce ailments associated with obesity later in life.
Childhood Immunization Rates Still Languish
Despite the fact that the immunization rates for kids enrolled in Medicaid HMOs have been increasing, rates for kids enrolled in private HMOs are still worrisome. The rates of immunization against diseases like flu and rotavirus declined dramatically among private HMO enrollees several years ago and have still not recovered to levels deemed desirable by healthcare authorities.
Decrease in Substance Abuse Treatment
Diagnoses of chemical dependencies are less likely to be followed by enrollment in substance abuse treatment plans, according to the latest HEDIS data. The drop in substance abuse enrollment rates is especially significant among Medicare patients and seems to indicate that many older Americans are not getting the help that they need to overcome their addictions.
Improved Satisfaction for Medicaid Enrollees
HEDIS data collected on patient satisfaction suggests that a growing number of Medicaid enrollees are happy with the doctors and specialists that they can access through their plans. This is encouraging for supporters of the Affordable Care Act.
Need Help with the Next Round of HEDIS Reporting?
Until we see the data from the next round of HEDIS reporting, we won’t know whether the above trends will continue. If you need help with HEDIS reporting activities, you can contact HEDIS Nurses for help. We can provide expert nurse abstractors who will extract accurate and useful data from your patient charts to provide a solid basis for your reporting.
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