Centralize Data & Analytics

The Maine State Innovation Model award is funding the following efforts to centralize data and analytics:

Public Reporting for Quality Improvement & Payment Reform - We know that what gets measured gets improved, so in an effort to strengthen the quality and lower the cost of healthcare in Maine, the State Innovation Model award will provide additional funding to develop new quality and cost metrics that will be publicly reported on the Maine Health Management Coalition's website, www.getbettermaine.org. Patients will be encouraged to use the information to find top performing doctors and hospitals, and employers will be encouraged to use the information in their benefit designs.

Provider Practice Reports - Practice reports, like the provider portal, offer healthcare providers valuable insight into how well their practice is performing on key cost and quality metrics. The reports give providers insight into which areas they are performing well in, and which areas are in need of improvement.

MaineCare Notification Project - Currently, MaineCare Care Managers receive Emergency Department (ED) and inpatient discharge summary reports for their members from the treating hospital via fax as requested. HealthInfoNet (HIN) will automate this process between the hospitals and MaineCare, on the hospitals behalf, using the Health Information Exchange. HIN will provide MaineCare Care Managers real-time electronic "notifications" using secure email of these events of care. The new electronic process aims to create a more efficient workflow for both the hospital and MaineCare staff while supporting MaineCare member's best possible care.

Tracking Cost of Care - We know that there is significant variation in the cost of healthcare services around the state of Maine, but without transparent pricing information it is impossible for consumers and businesses to know which practices and hospitals are offering the most competitive rates. This lack of transparency, and thus lack of competition, is one of the primary drivers behind Maine's high healthcare costs.

To address the high costs and lack of transparency, the Maine Health Management Coalition will convene the Cost of Care Work Group. The Cost of Care Work Group is a multi-stakeholder group that will analyze health care cost drivers in Maine and identify actionable strategies to reduce health care costs while preserving or improving quality. The group will include purchasers, providers, health plans, and consumers, and will meet monthly.

Additionally, the Maine Health Management Coalition will produce a Healthcare Cost "Fact Book" that will be made available to the general public. The fact book will provide information regarding the cost of care in Maine and identify those areas of highest costs.

While this work is being carried out, the Coalition will hold periodic summit meetings of Chief Executive Officers from Maine's business community to brief them on the findings of the Cost of Care Work Group and Healthcare Cost Fact Book.