Comparison Reports

Guidelines and Recommendations

Collaboration

The Puget Sound Health Alliance is currently developing or adopting “toolkits” to help patients and other individual consumers, employers and other purchasers, physicians and other health care professionals, and health plans make decisions that support and provide quality care, promote good health, and improve the cost-effectiveness of the health care system. All of these toolkits will be aligned in their focus, to ensure that these decisions all lead to improving quality, reducing cost, and generate the best possible health outcomes.

Initial toolkits are available to Alliance participants (either log-in to access that information or click here for information on how to join the Alliance). For example, in May, 2006, sample tools have been developed for those involved with preventing, treating and providing medical services or health coverage for diabetes and heart disease. Eventually, tools will also address the use of prescription drugs. Over time, additional toolkits will be added to address back pain, depression and other medical conditions.

The toolkits will be developed or adopted from the clinical guidelines adopted by the Alliance Quality Improvement Committee. Toolkits will range in complexity and purpose from simple patient checklists of topics to discuss with your doctor – for example, a checklist of services to expect during an office visit for diabetes – to more complex topics like a family-focused list of what to monitor following discharge from a hospital for heart attack. Toolkits will be customized for different users and purposes – for example, a list of vetted disease registries and their strengths and weaknesses for use by physician practices considering the adoption of a chronic disease registry system.

The following materials provide practical ideas to improve health care quality, reduce costs and/or promote better health.

Preventing Chronic Disease: How (& Why) Employers Can Make A Difference 

Learn about effective employment-based activities that reduce costly chronic disease, presented by UW's Dr. Jeffrey Harris at the February All Alliance meeting.

Top Tools to Insure a Tobacco-Free Workplace: Why, What and How (1 MB file)

Learn about the cost of tobacco use to the workplace and specific steps employers can take (policies, health coverage and communication issues) to support employees in their quest for freedom from tobacco.

To recommend additional tools that others will be able to use, please let us know.