Act 53 Mandated
Hospital Reports & Community Needs Assessments
Explanatory Notes
 What are these reports?
Act
53 of 2003 (18 V.S.A.§ 9405b) mandated a broad collection of
tasks to bring more accountability to hospital and health care
spending plans in Vermont. The first “deliverables” mandated by
the Act were the hospital Community Reports and the
Community
Needs Assessment. These are two different sets of performance
and planning data compiled by Vermont hospitals for their respective
operations, with a due date of Jan. 1, 2005.
The annual "Community Report" measures how the
hospital performs in a variety of categories. The report
presents information related to six nationally endorsed
characteristics of the health care system, reflecting that an ideal
system should be: effective; patient-centered; safe; timely;
efficient; and equitable. The “Community Needs Assessments” derive
from health data and input received through community meetings held by
hospitals. The assessments identify and prioritize the health care
needs of the local population served by each hospital, and they also
serve to engage the public in the hospital’s strategic planning
process.
What was
BISHCA’s role in these reports?
BISHCA provided coordination and direction for the Community
Report process. Commissioner John Crowley approved the types of
measurements contained in the report and its common language, so that
analysts and consumers alike could compare the data as simply and
cleanly as possible. A
diverse hospital report work group ensured a blended perspective of
regulators, hospital officials and consumers. The
Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS)
worked with the hospitals to develop the guidelines for the Community
Needs Assessments. The Department of Health provided technical
assistance with data needed to assess the health status of local
populations. BISHCA consulted on the development of the guidelines
that were ultimately approved by BISHCA’s commissioner as required
under Act 53.
What measures were
taken to achieve objectivity?
BISHCA required the hospitals to use nationally validated measures and
data that were reviewed by objective parties for these reports.
For the Community Reports, the quality measures in the section
titled “Health Care Should Be Effective” came directly from
measures that were developed and tested for a number of years by the
Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS). The data reflects care for people with heart attacks, heart
failure and pneumonia. It was analyzed for the reports by the
northeast Health Care Quality Foundation, an organization hired by CMS
to measure and improve health care quality. The patient satisfaction
data in the reports was collected and analyzed by Press-Ganey, a
national leader in this area. [Footnote 1]
The identification and prioritization of health needs in the Community
Needs Assessments are based on analyses of both objective quantitative
health data and more subjective qualitative data gathered through
community meetings. The types and numbers of participants commenting
at the community meetings may influence the findings derived from
those meetings.
What is BISHCA’s
assessment of these reports?
The hospitals’ reports were released for public viewing on their due
date of Jan. 1, 2005, concurrent with BISHCA’s receipt of those
reports from the hospitals. See
BISHCA's
comparative assessment.
How will the
report findings be useful?
Both types of reports will
furnish data to hospitals to improve health care and refine their
strategic health care plans. They will also provide useful input to
the Act 53-mandated Health Resource Allocation Plan (HRAP) that will
identify the appropriate supply and distribution of health care
resources, facilities and programs to be submitted to the Governor for
approval on July 1, 2005. In
addition, the Community Reports will help the public gauge the
comparative quality of patient care provided by Vermont hospitals. The
Community Needs Assessments will hopefully assist public and private
health care providers and agencies in their planning efforts to meet
specific local needs.
Footnote:
[1]
One reporting facility was an exception.
Retreat Healthcare used measures approved by the Commissioner
that reflect the kinds of care consumers receive at the facility.
When possible, Retreat Healthcare’s results are compared to a
database of psychiatric hospitals from around the country.
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