The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68474

Sarah E. Samuels, DrPH¹, Amy M. Carroll, MPH¹, Merry Wood², Renetia Martin, MSW³, Elaine Peacock, MA⁴, Marilyn Hill Harper, MD¹, Roberta Wyn, PhD⁵, and Nancy Adess¹. (1) Samuels & Associates, 1204 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-271-6799, sarah@samuelsandassociates.com, (2) California HealthCare Foundation, 476 9th Street, Oakland, CA 94607, (3) Women's Health Collaborative, 663 13th Street, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, (4) Health Policy Consultant, 2503 19th Avenue, Oakland, CA 94606, (5) Center for Health Policy Research, University of California, Los Angeles, 10911 Weyburn Ave, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90024

The quality of the American health care system has been the subject of much debate and media attention due to two recent Institute of Medicine reports documenting high levels of medical errors. However, health care quality improvement is not an easy task, especially given recent federal and state health care budget cuts. Evidence-based guidelines for care are not universally followed, the needs and preferences of the patient are often ignored, and quality of care measures are neither standard nor rarely reported in a way that is accessible or meaningful to health care consumers. While some health care purchasers are beginning to demand evidence of quality improvement, patient/consumer involvement has been largely absent from the health care quality arena. In order to address these issues and work toward improving health care quality for Californians, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) established the Quality Initiative (QI) in 1998. Since then, the Quality Initiative has been a catalyst in stimulating consumer-driven health care quality improvement by fostering the development and dissemination of salient and standardized quality of care measures; stimulating consumer and purchaser use of comparative quality information; reducing barriers to quality measurement and assessment; and accelerating quality improvement by engaging consumers, providers, purchasers, and policymakers. In 2001, QI funded Allies for Quality: Patient and Consumer Groups Improving Health Care, a three-year, $2 million grant program designed to support and encourage consumer and patient groups' involvement in health care quality issues. Eight grants were awarded to a diverse group of consumer and patient organizations who are working to improve quality for California’s health care consumers by: 1) defining the quality needs and priorities of consumers, including linguistic and cultural competence; 2) mobilizing consumers and community advocates around quality of care issues; 3) educating and supporting patients to make more informed and empowered health care decisions; 4) improving provider-patient interactions and communication; and 5) improving health care delivery environments for patients and consumers through improved delivery systems, administrative and public policies, and public reporting of quality measures. Five of these grantees will present the models and approaches they have implemented in their communities to engage consumers in the improvement of health care quality. They will share their programs’ successes, challenges, and lessons learned, and make recommendations to health care providers, purchasers, policymakers and program planners about how to successfully include the consumer voice in health care quality improvement efforts.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:
• 3. Explain what quality of care means to California health care consumers, and how that differs from the current quality improvement debate among researchers and health care purchasers.
  6. Describe the highest priority quality of care issues that face California health care consumers.
  9. List effective program models and strategies being implemented by the California HealthCare Foundation's Allies for Quality grantees that engage consumers and patients in efforts to improve health care quality.

Keywords: Quality Improvement, Community Involvement

Related Web page: www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemID=20205&dir=quality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: California HealthCare Foundation; Women's Health Leadership's Women's Choices program; Community Health Worker and Promotora Network; California Diabetes Control Program's Diabetes Community Action Group Program; Center for Disability Issues and the Healt
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am the Principal Investigator of the evaluation of the California HealthCare Foundation's Allies for Quality Program