02/17/2004 - COMPREHENSIVE, NATIONAL REVIEW OF HOSPITAL QUALITY REPORTS AVAILABLE AT WWW.IPRO.ORG

Quality Groups Now Have Online Resource for Comparing Reporting Approaches

LAKE SUCCESS, NY, February 17, 2004 - Thirty-six hospital quality reports are highlighted in one of the largest independent reviews to date of hospital quality reports, recently published by IPRO and available at www.IPRO.org. The review provides a thumbnail of report cards from across the nation and compares the content and format of reports from a diverse group of sponsors: government agencies, commercial groups, business coalitions, health plans, hospital associations, not-for-profits organizations, specialty societies, individual hospitals and hospital systems -- and even organizations based outside the U.S.

"This review should prove valuable to a range of organizations involved in health care quality measurement and reporting," says Theodore O. Will, Chief Executive Officer, IPRO. "This sharing of information will enhance the quality field and may lead to new initiatives." IPRO is one of the nation's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to evaluating and improving the quality of health care services.

The review was prepared for IPRO by The Healthcare Decisions Group as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) National Hospital Quality Initiative.

Reports featured in the review evaluate hospital quality based on a range of measurements, from process and outcome measures to nonclinical measures such as financial performance. The reports' publishers range from household names such as the American College of Cardiology and New York State Department of Health, to lesser-known groups like the London-based Dr. Foster Ltd.

The review is available both in hard copy and online, under the "IPRO Publications" section of IPRO.org (direct link). Online viewers can identify available hospital quality reports of interest by location and sponsor category. The online review also provides Website addresses for the publicly accessible reports.

With nearly 20 years experience in health care quality evaluation, IPRO holds major contracts with state and federal governments to review the cost and quality of services provided to Medicaid recipients, Medicare beneficiaries, and patients enrolled in managed care organizations. Based in Lake Success, New York, IPRO also holds contracts with private-sector clients to improve the quality of privately financed services.

For hard copy of the review, please call (516) 326-7767, ext. 588.

Contact:

Whitney Wasserman/Dennis Tartaglia

212/481-7000

Spencer Vibbert

516/326-7767 ext. 652