Health Dialog To Present Findings From Multi-Payer Data Warehouse At First Ever Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Summit

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Nov 2007 - 13:00 PDT

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Health Dialog Services Corporation announced that it will present the findings from the Louisiana Multi-Payer Data Warehouse, developed by its subsidiary Health Dialog Analytic Solutions (HDAS), at today's Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Summit at Tulane University. Supported by a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation, Tulane University engaged HDAS to build a Louisiana multi-payer Data Warehouse and develop a snapshot of Louisiana's healthcare status prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Data Warehouse, which contains healthcare claims from the State's three primary payers (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Medicare, and Medicaid), allowed HDAS to analyze Louisiana's cost, quality, and utilization patterns between July 2004 - June 2005. In addition, HDAS examined data provided by the Louisiana State University Health Care Systems Division (LSU-HCSD) for their uninsured patients, to conduct additional analyses on utilization of care by the uninsured.

The analyses indicate that significant variation in cost, quality, and utilization existed in Louisiana prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The results provide important benchmarks for the rebuilding efforts and statewide health care reform efforts as a whole.

Key findings from the project are:

1) The variation in care across regions within Louisiana cannot be fully explained by health status, insurance type, race/ethnicity or gender of the population.

2) Higher insurance-based expenditures did not lead to better quality.

3) The uninsured appear to use emergency rooms for chronic disease in lieu of other sources of care, suggesting a lack of access to primary care.

These variations were most likely driven by local structural characteristics (such as the number and density of hospital beds, diagnostic services, and the density of physicians) and practice patterns and behaviors of the local providers and delivery systems in the State. Recognizing and understanding the causes of over-use, under-use, and misuse of healthcare services in Louisiana, and around the country as well, provides Louisiana with a unique opportunity to prevent unwarranted variation.

"We believe this Data Warehouse and its analysis provide a unique and invaluable framework for directing initiatives which can fundamentally improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare in Louisiana", said Gery Barry, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and Board Member of the newly formed Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum (LHCQF). "Not only does it identify key opportunities for quality improvement, it pinpoints where improvement is most needed, and stimulates rich discussion as to how such improvement can be achieved."

In addition to the report, through an arrangement with Tulane University, much of the underlying data will be made available to the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum to further inform their quality improvement efforts in the State.

"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused massive destruction to our State's healthcare system, including the loss of significant infrastructure and workforce," said Karen DeSalvo, Special Assistant to the President for Health Policy at Tulane University as well as a LHCQF Board Member. "As Louisiana continues to rebuild, this information will be critical in developing statewide strategies for creating a new, high performing healthcare system - one that consistently provides high quality, efficient care informed by evidence-based medicine, delivered through community-based sites that are supported by an integrated system. This information will help the Quality Forum ensure that we 'design out' the unwarranted variations that existed across the State prior to the storms."

David Wennberg, President and COO of HDAS said, "We are excited to be able to contribute to and aid in the rebuilding and redesign of a new healthcare system for Louisiana. HDAS' mission is to reduce unwarranted variation in the delivery of healthcare. The situation in New Orleans provides a unique opportunity to prevent the type of variation we see throughout the rest of the country. "

About Health Dialog

Health Dialog is a leading provider of care management services, including disease management, and is one of the fastest growing privately held firms in the U.S. The firm helps physician groups, health plans, and self-insured employers improve healthcare quality while reducing overall costs. The firm's services include analytic services and telephonic, online, and other care management support for individuals, payors, and physicians. Health Dialog helps individuals become more actively engaged in the management of their health and healthcare and have more effective relationships with their physicians.

http://www.healthdialog.com