Pennsylvania is a Leader in Quality Outcomes – April 2003

The public reporting of quality outcome measures is receiving increased attention as a way to compare the quality of hospitals, physicians and managed care plans. State governments, health care providers, purchasers, consumer groups and the federal government are recognizing the value of health outcomes reporting. While reporting on health care quality is a relatively new undertaking, informed purchasers recognize that by creating a demand and an expectation for quality, they encourage providers to deliver better care. This can lead to an overall improvement in the health care system, including lower costs. In 1986, the Pennsylvania General Assembly recognized the value of health care data collection as a way to stimulate competition in the health care marketplace, and enacted legislation creating the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) as an independent agency of state government to collect the data.