Healthy Memphis Common Table's (HMCT) Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) Initiative with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is well under way to help Memphis physicians improve quality of care for the people they serve. This month we address the benefits of instituting "all-payer" healthcare quality reporting.

Why Memphis physicians, the Memphis Medical Society, purchasers and health plans are getting behind "all-payer reporting." All-payer reporting is:
• Constructive. The purpose of reporting is to help physicians improve, not to punish them.
• Accurate. Research has clearly demonstrated that all-payer reporting is more accurate than the reports generated by individual insurance plans. Our first step is to aggregate claims from many payers to develop more accurate data. Eventually we plan to move to EHR and laboratory data as it becomes available to make our reporting system even more comprehensive and usable for payers, doctors, consumers and purchasers.
• Fair. Our all-payer reporting will only include measures that local physicians have endorsed and approved. Memphis physicians have chosen the most accurate measures available based on claims data. These measures include blood sugar (HbA1c) screening, eye exams and cholesterol testing for diabetics and have been clearly tied to patient outcomes.
• Accountable. HMCT, the Mid-South's non-profit regional health improvement collaborative, is organizing these reporting efforts. This means Memphis citizens and providers are in charge and have a seat at the table.
• Simple. Over time it is possible that Memphis physicians and healthcare consumers get one report instead of many from different insurance companies.
• Collaborative. Consumers, providers and insurers, including BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Cigna and Aetna, are participating and many other plans are preparing to join this common table effort. Insurance companies get better data by collaborating. This can help them to reward providers who are improving care for the patients they serve.

The first step will be to provide primary care physicians in Shelby County private reports of their clinic's performance, and to improve the reports with local physician's help. The following year the reports will be made available online. Providers participating in the HMCT AF4Q Project will get practical tools to improve the care they provide to their patients. Get involved.


Contact: To learn more about this community-wide public reporting effort and how you can help, contact Michael Cates (761-0200) at MMS, Dawn FitzGerald at QSource (682-0381), Cristie Travis at Memphis Business Group on Health (767-9585 ext. 224) or Jim Bailey, MD, at the Healthy Memphis Data Center (448-2475).

Aligning For Quality Initiative: Working with physicians, hospitals, businesses, and consumers to improve healthcare for the people of Memphis.