Hospital performance measures

Removes provisions from the House-passed version of the bill specifying the particular types of performance measure information to be submitted by hospitals to the Director of Health, and instead, requires the information to be submitted in accordance with rules to be adopted by the Director.

Requires the Director's rules to include performance measures developed or endorsed by the following national organizations: (1) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, (2) the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, (3) the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, and (4) the National Quality Forum, limited to its "national voluntary consensus standards for hospital care."

Removes provisions specifying the methods to be used by hospitals when "risk adjusting" the performance measure information, and instead, requires the risk adjustment to be made according to the methodology recommended by the entity that developed or endorsed the performance measure being used.

Adds provisions requiring the consideration of whether there are excessive administrative or financial implications associated with reporting information on a particular performance measure.

Requires hospitals to submit performance measure information in a manner that reflects their performance over a 12-month period.

Hospital Measures Advisory Council

Specifies that the Director, when adopting rules on performance measures, may take into consideration the recommendations of the Hospital Measures Advisory Council created by the House-passed version of the bill.

Adds the Executive Director of the Commission on Minority Health to the Advisory Council.

Data Collection and Analysis Group

Provides for the ongoing existence of the group of experts in data collection and analysis that the Director must convene under the bill's House-passed version.

Requires the Director to ensure that the group includes at least one representative of small and rural hospitals.

Requires the group, rather than the Director, to convene a separate group of experts on infection control when needed.

Price information on outpatient services

Requires hospitals to submit annual information on outpatient prices according to the 60 categories of services most frequently provided, instead of the House-passed requirement under which 60 outpatient services were to be identified by the Director in rules.

Requires the outpatient price information to include both (1) the mean and median of total charges for the services and (2) the number of patients served in each category.

Posting of price information lists

Removes the House-passed requirement that each hospital post an announcement of the availability of its price information lists, for both inpatient and outpatient services, in each of the hospital's billing offices and each of its admission, patient waiting, and reception areas.

Timing of information submissions

Specifies that the submission of performance measure information by hospitals on a semi-annual basis, as required by the House, is to occur by the first day of April and October each year, beginning in 2007.

Requires the Director to make the performance measure information and price information submitted by hospitals available on an Internet web site, as required by the House, not later than 90 days after the information is submitted.

Funding and outsourcing of web site

Specifies that the Director's duties to establish and operate a web site containing hospital performance measure and price information are applicable only to the extent that appropriations are made by the General Assembly to make fulfillment of those duties possible.

Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to contract with another person for establishment and operation of the web site.

Sale of information

Adds a provision requiring the Director to make the performance measure and price information submitted by hospitals available for sale to any interested party.

Requires the Director to charge a fee that is reasonable.

Quality-of-care data

Eliminates existing laws that require annual "quality-of-care data" reports to be made by providers of the following services: organ and bone marrow transplantation, stem cell harvesting, cardiac catheterization, open-heart surgery, obstetric and newborn care, pediatric intensive care, operation of linear accelerators, operation of cobalt radiation therapy units, and operation of gamma knives.

H0197-126.doc/ss 05/24/06

* This synopsis does not address amendments that may have been adopted on the Senate floor.