Quality Improvement Strategy

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The Health Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization a team effort of those who provide, pay for and use health care services. We all work together to improve the quality of patient care for a healthier community, at a price more people can afford. See Frequently Asked Questions

By serving as a trusted source for information and public reporting that is grounded in research and reflecting best-practices, the Alliance helps:

Individuals take control of their health and be better informed health care consumers;

Doctors, other health care professionals and hospitals provide the most effective treatments and highest quality care;

Public and private employers and union trusts offer employees quality-focused health benefits and health improvement programs; and,

Health plans help people find doctors, other health practitioners and hospitals that provide the highest quality care at the best value.

Alliance work projects include:

Producing a comparison report on the quality of care provided by local clinics (medical practices, offices) and hospitals. Over time, the report will be refined and expanded. This report will be available to the public, to help everyone make informed decisions that improve local health care.

Adopting evidence-based treatment recommendations and guidelines, for health care professionals to use in treating patients.  Developed by working with physicians and other medical leaders, these guidelines, initially for heart disease, diabetes, back pain, depression, and the appropriate prescribing of medications, are consistent with nationally recognized standards of care.

Providing useful information to help guide health care decision-making for patients as they work with their doctors to prevent and manage illness and take better care of themselves; and for employers and union trusts to support these efforts.

Creating incentives to break down barriers and reward quality care. This includes recommending health benefit design that covers effective treatments, and ways to recognize and reward doctors, hospitals and others for providing high quality care (e.g., pay for performance). For patients, this includes encouragement to improve personal health and manage chronic conditions. For medical practices and hospitals, it also involves support for increased use of electronic medical records, registries and other health information technology.