Healthcare industry leaders discussed quality measures and price transparency during the second and final day of a Federal Trade Commission workshop focused on healthcare competition, according to an AHA News report.
James Landman, a policy director with the Healthcare Financial Management Association, offered a preview of a price transparency report that a task force of providers, patients and employers is currently working on, according to the report. Price transparency panelists at the workshop agreed it's important not only to provide information on costs but to also ensure consumers understand its relevance and know where to find it.
Prior to the workshop, the American Hospital Association submitted a letter to the FTC expressing support for price transparency efforts: "The AHA and its members stand ready to work with policymakers on innovative ways to build on efforts already occurring at the state level and share information that helps consumers make better choices about their healthcare."
On Friday, Kate Goodrich, MD, director of the CMS Quality Measurement and Health Assessment Group, also discussed her agency's progression toward using outcome-focused quality measures, according to the report.
The two-day workshop, titled "Examining Health Care Competition," explored issues including price transparency, the professional regulation of healthcare providers, care delivery innovations, healthcare technology advancements and measurements and assessments of healthcare quality. During the first day, Gail Finley, vice president of rural health and hospitals for the Colorado Hospital Association, discussed access issues for patients in rural Colorado during a panel on professional regulation. Additionally, Lee Sacks, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer for Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care, discussed Tele-ICU during another panel focused on healthcare innovation.
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