Alliance Blog

In 2014 Washington became one of the first states to agree upon a common measure set for health care quality and cost. The impetus was to align measurement efforts across a wide variety of organizations, send a common message about performance accountability and create the basis for purchasing health care based on better value, i.e., ...

March was a turbulent month for the health care industry as the American Health Care Act (ACHA) was introduced and then withdrawn from Congress. Discussion of the bill dominated the news, and there are rumblings that a second attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may be made soon. No matter where you stand ...

A recent study from Brookings is garnering national headlines for showing that “deaths of despair” are surging across the U.S. These deaths are caused by alcoholism, suicide, and drug overdoses, including from the opioid epidemic, and have increased dramatically over the last 15 years. While the causes of these deaths are complex and manifold, we ...

This month, we’re excited to welcome Loft9 Consulting, Island Hospital, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. and McKinsey & Company as the newest members of the Alliance. About Loft9 Consulting Loft9’s mission is to be sought out as the management consulting firm that consistently delivers elevated outcomes and experiences through positive energy, collaborative spirit, and passion for client ...

The Commonwealth Fund has released their 2017 Scorecard on State Health System Performance, and Washington is ranked #10 overall, an increase of six spots from its baseline rank. We rank particularly well in Avoidable Hospital Use & Cost (#5), Healthy Lives (#9) and Equity (#10), but scored lower in Access & Affordability (#18) and Prevention ...

Data is a foundational element in transforming the health care system, which is why the Community Checkup has played such an important role in our work since its first release in 2008. We know that data by itself is insufficient to move the market. Data must be translated into information to drive action and outcomes ...

This month, we’re excited to welcome The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) as the newest members of the Alliance. About The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) IHME is an independent population health research center at UW Medicine, part of the University of Washington, that provides rigorous and comparable measurement of the world’s ...

New site breaks new ground in the ways it allows visitors to use data to promote transparency and value-based purchasing  SEATTLE, February 22, 2017 –The Washington Health Alliance (the Alliance) today announced the launch of its new Community Checkup website, its signature site with detailed results on the quality of care  and patient experience within ...

Variation in health care is a common theme in the Alliance’s work. The Community Checkup report released last December highlights how this variation is found across geographies and among medical groups, clinics and hospitals. Now a new report that the Alliance is preparing to release next week illustrates that disparities in care are a significant ...

The new year has just begun, but the Alliance is already off to a busy start. Earlier this week, the Alliance and The Bree Collaborative issued a call to action, inviting health care leaders across the state to join a coordinated response to Washington state’s opioid addiction crisis. The impetus for this call to action ...

Recently released results from a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust found employers continue to shift expenses to workers, with deductibles rising substantially faster than total health costs. According to the survey, 46 percent of covered workers have a deductible of at least $1,000 this year for single ...

Read how Swedish Medical Center is making a big impact through a simple, innovative solution—changing the practice of ordering “daily labs,” or a lab automatically ordered for every day a patient is in the hospital. Following Choosing Wisely recommendations, Swedish Medical Center encourages physicians to only order tests that are clinically relevant. The results? This ...