Health care consumers today seek quality information, especially when it is relevant to their specific concerns and is presented in language they can understand. Transparency of health care organizations permits patients and their caregivers to partner in safer, higher quality care. We as part of the PeaceHealth system are making information available to patients and their families, allowing them to make informed decisions about their care. This will include information reflecting our performance on safety, evidence-based practice, and patient satisfaction.

We envision a system of care where caregivers can boast about their work, and patients can feel completely safe and confident in the care they receive. Because many people in our organization have these same feelings PeaceHealth has brought this concept to life.

Common Questions and Answers

What is Transparency?

Transparency is being open and honest about the safety, quality, and level of patient satisfaction related to the care we provide—as a means of fulfilling our promise to deliver exceptional medicine and compassionate care. 

Why is Transparency important?

Transparency is important for several reasons: Our providers, patients, and the communities we serve deserve to know how we're doing and how our performance compares to that of other health care providers.

• It is the right thing to do given PeaceHealth’s mission of carrying on the healing mission of Jesus Christ by promoting personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way.
• Employers, payers (private health insurance companies and the government), and health care consumers are demanding it.
• The need for transparency was among the recommendations contained in the March 2001 Institute of Medicine report: Crossing the Quality Chasm.

What quality measures is PeaceHealth being transparent about?

Currently available on the PeaceHealth Performance Measures website are: 

• Quarterly results on a variety of quality measures from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), including comparisons to national JCAHO rates.
• Performance on measures relating to specific PeaceHealth quality initiatives (heart failure, pneumonia, and diabetes care).
• PeaceHealth performance on the 2004 National Patient Safety Goals. 
• PeaceHealth performance on Home Health Measures, including comparisons to state and national averages.  

To review all of the measures that are currently being reported, please visit the Performance Measures Website.

What kinds of measures does PeaceHealth plan to be transparent about in the future?

Among the new measures for 2005 are:

• Additional quality measures that will be reported by JCAHO
• Results and information on PeaceHealth’s Culture of Safety survey 
• Information about PeaceHealth’s participation in charitable and community projects
• Organizational Health and Patient Satisfaction Survey results

Does transparency violate HIPAA rules and regulations?

No. Being transparent means openly sharing our quality performance results; it does not mean disclosing protected information about the patients we serve. HIPAA protects against the sharing of patient-specific information without proper authorization.
 

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