| National Business Coalition On Health Endorses Patient Charter
The National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), a
non-profit, membership association of 60 business and health
coalitions, representing a national network of 7,000 employers and 34
million covered lives, said it is supporting the Patient Charter for
Physician Performance Measurement, Reporting, and Tiering Programs.
The Patient Charter has been developed by a group of
leading employer, consumer and labor organizations including NBCH,
working toward a common goal to ensure that all Americans have access
to publicly reported healthcare performance information.
The Patient Charter establishes specific criteria for
health plans developing physician performance measurement programs to
ensure the integrity, validity and fairness of these important
initiatives.
The Patient Charter then calls on any health plan that
is developing programs to evaluate and rate physicians – programs
that NBCH and its member coalitions have asked for – to undergo
acomprehensive independent review.
"Public reporting of physician performance is central to
healthcare system improvement and empowering consumers with the
information they need to make informed decisions about their physicians
and the care they receive," said Andrew Webber, president and CEO of
NBCH. "Independent review is necessary to help build public trust and
confidence in the physician measurement, incentives and reporting
initiatives that health plans are generating throughout the nation. We
encourage employers, as purchasers of healthcare, to ensure that their
contracted health plans comply with the provisions of the Patient
Charter."
NBCH said it is also committed to promoting the Patient
Charter by integrating charter requirements into eValue8, the common
request for information. eValue8 was created by NBCH for member
coalitions and the employer community to assess the performance of
health plans. Currently used by 20 coalitions and hundreds of leading
corporations to measure the performance of 200 health plans, eValue8
will be modified to make clear that the employer community expects
health plans to comply with the Patient Charter.
Address: National Business Coalition on Health, 1015 18th St. NW, Suite 730, Washington DC 20036; (202) 775-9300, www.nbch.org.
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