March 7, 2019 Via Email The Honorable Lamar Alexander 455 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Alexander, Thank you for the opportunity to provide recommendations to help
Posts Categorized: Alliance Reports
Are we there yet?
In the introduction to our 2018 Community Checkup – just released this week – we use the metaphor of a journey to describe our health care improvement efforts in Washington
September 2018 Letter from the Executive Director: Nancy Giunto to Testify on Transparency Before Senate Subcommittee
On a hot, smoky, not-so-transparent day in Seattle last month, I received an email from a staff member of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee inquiring
August 2018 Letter from the Executive Director: The Why and How of Health Care Affordability
“Americans aren’t buying more health care overall than other countries. But what they are buying is increasingly expensive.” I’m sure this quote from the recent Wall Street Journal article “Why
New Report Ranks Washington Hospitals on Quality, Patient Experience, and Cost
First report in the state to publicly report on all three elements of hospital value Findings show that higher cost does not necessarily mean higher quality care SEATTLE – The
An Exciting Night at the Leaders in Health Care Awards
Last Thursday, Seattle Business magazine hosted a gala at Bell Harbor International Conference Center for their 2018 Leaders in Health Care Awards. It was an exciting and inspiring evening, and
New Survey Shows Variation Among Primary Care Practices on Patient Experience, a Key Element of Health Care Quality
Patients consider provider communication more important than other elements of patient experience 35% of males and 21% of females reported binge drinking at least some of the time Nearly three-quarters
New Study Finds Hundreds of Thousands of Washington Patients Receive Unnecessary Tests, Procedures, and Treatments
In one year, an estimated $282 million was spent on “wasteful” health care for 622,000 Washington patients Washington becomes just the third state in the nation to use a new
New Community Checkup report, All-Alliance Meeting webinar now available
We’re excited to announce that the 2017 Community Checkup report is now available! The report was released at our All-Alliance meeting yesterday and the results are now live at www.wacommunitycheckup.org.
Washington Health Alliance’s Community Checkup Report Finds Thousands of People in State Fail to Receive Recommended Health Care
Third version of Washington State Common Measure Set shows quality of care varies dramatically across state SEATTLE, December 7, 2017. Washington State has a long way to go if it
As new report shows colorectal cancer rates rising, Washington lags in appropriate screening
A new study from the American Cancer Society published in JAMA shows that rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) are rising among younger adults, ages 20-54. Current recommendations do not advise
2017 Hospital Value Report
I am pleased to announce that last week the Alliance released a new members-only report on Hospital Value. The report looks at the three components of value in health care:
New Community Checkup demonstration webinar available
The Alliance’s Director of Communication and Development, John Gallagher, recently hosted a webinar demonstrating some of the many features of the Community Checkup website. Topics covered include how to compare
HPV vaccination rates in Washington remain stubbornly low
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made headlines for finding that more than 20 percent of adults in the U.S. are infected with cancer-causing
Celebrating our accomplishments and looking to the future
The Alliance marked two important milestones last week. On December 10, we celebrated our tenth anniversary, gathering together many of the people who built the Alliance. Looking back and celebrating
Common Measure Set measures health care progress in Washington
The Washington State Common Measure Set for Health Care Quality and Cost is a set of 52 measures that enable a common way of tracking important elements of health and
The American College of Emergency Physicians finds increased ER use in March poll
Last week, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released the results of a poll conducted in March that found three-quarters of emergency physicians have seen an increase in emergency
Reducing avoidable emergency room visits in Washington state
Too often emergency rooms become the place where patients go with problems that are not emergencies. When simple medical concerns that can be treated easily and more cost effectively in
Reduce your hospital “sticker shock”
Sometimes you can’t avoid going to the hospital, but you can try to be prepared before you go. Understand which hospitals are in your insurance plan’s network, know the details
Release of county-level data reveals disparities in care
We are pleased to publish the detailed, county-level data we used to produce the 2014 Disparities in Care Report. Organizations such as public health departments, city and county governments, regional