Kentucky lags well behind other states in achieving a high value delivery system.
A high value healthcare system leads to healthier communities. It eliminates unnecessary services and administrative waste and charges reasonable prices. This benefits everyone.
We all want to receive healthcare where the costs are reasonable, the outcomes are exceptional and equitable, the medical errors are minimal and we feel respected by providers that are energized and engaged in mission-driven work.
Healthcare quality and cost measurement is a strategy for providing better, more affordable care for individuals and the community. Getting health plans and providers aligned on the same measurement priorities and incentives is critical to reducing waste and driving optimal prevention, treatment and management on the conditions that are most important to our community, such as diabetes, depression and cancer.
The KHC has been engaged in driving local healthcare value for over 15 years in Greater Louisville and Kentucky. Part of that work requires leveraging employers’ purchasing power and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure patients receive high value care.
The KHC has several key initiatives
included in this strategy. These include:
Kentucky Core Healthcare Measures Set
Driving health improvements through
measurement alignment
Healthcare quality and cost measurement aims to provide better, more affordable care for individuals and the community. Measuring and incenting the right things is important but doing so requires experts to agree on what those things should be.
Creating a core set of healthcare measures to focus and align priorities is the first step toward aligning incentives around the things that matter. Experts from across the Commonwealth of Kentucky have created the Kentucky Core Healthcare Measures Set (KCHMS), which brings together the priorities of consumers, providers, payers, and purchasers. By focusing on everything, we focus on nothing. But by focusing on the right things, we can drive improvements.
Community Measures Set
For the last 15 years, the KHC has led the way in healthcare quality measurement and transparency through Consolidated Measurement Reports.
These reports allow for comparison to local and state averages and benchmark scores on the quality of care patients receive on a variety of ambulatory care indicators. The KHC is the only organization that combines Commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage data for quality reporting. The data also allows us to see where we have improved – or not – as a community in these key indicators of quality healthcare.
Health Equity
Driving health improvements through
measurement alignment
In the United States, disparities in health outcomes are prominent and growing. Historical and contemporary social, structural, and political factors have created these disparities by limiting access to resources and opportunities for certain groups in our society. Achieving health equity involves breaking down these barriers and making sure that all people have access to the resources they need to achieve their full health potential.
The KHC is working to close health disparities and ensure that all people – regardless of race, ethnicity, income, identity, and geography – have access to high value healthcare and exceptional health outcomes.
Access to our full
library of initiatives
Join other organizations, businesses and coalitions working to improve healthcare quality.
- Full acess to initiatives, data and presentations
- Collaborate with like-minded organizations
- Attend trainings, webinars, networking events and roundtables
Similar Articles
The Impact of Cannabis in the Workplace
The legalization of cannabis has gained significant political and cultural traction over recent years. Despite being illegal on a federal level, many states have moved to legalize the substance or derivatives of it. Although conversations typically focus on legalization or lack thereof, the topic is quite nuanced and must consider […]
KHC Member Spotlight: J’Aime Jennings, PhD
Dr. J’Aime Jennings is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville, School of Public Health & Information Sciences and has been a member of the KHC for 3 years.
Mammograms Not a Health Service to Skip, Despite the Pandemic
(Note: This guest blog post was written by Suresh K. Mukherji, MD, MBA, FACR) Have you put off essential health screenings as a result of the pandemic? Approximately one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. This makes it the second […]
