HHS unveils quality 'report card' Web site

WASHINGTON, May 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Health and Human Services Department Wednesday unveiled a Web tool illustrating different approaches to healthcare quality reporting.

"Consumers and providers alike need better information if we're to get the highest quality and value from our healthcare system," said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt. "We're still learning how to gather and present that information in the best ways, and we can learn from one another."

Medicare and private payers are moving toward collecting and publishing data on the quality of healthcare. Last August, President Bush even committed federal health programs to make quality information available to all enrollees.

The next step is to make the information public, but there is no agreement on the best form public that report cards should take.

The new Web site, produced by Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, offers a variety of report card examples that are already in use by healthcare providers and payers across the country.

Including report cards is not an endorsement, the agency said; instead, they are illustrations of different approaches.