A new online tool now lets Seattle-area consumers look up information about how well health care is practiced in the region.
The Community Checkup report allows consumers to search and sort the report measuring local performance for several health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, depression and low back pain. It includes performance results for 26 hospitals in the region, using public data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Medical groups, clinics and hospitals in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Kitsap counties are organized by topic and results, showing if they are below, at or above the regional average with the care they provide.
The report at WaCommunityCheckup.org shows searchable results for the 14 medical groups and the many clinics featured in the Puget Sound Health Alliance's first Community Checkup published in January. The national Consumer Health Ratings group deemed that report cumbersome, prompting the information to be released in a more user-friendly way.
"The online Community Checkup report is the one place where everyone can go to easily learn about important aspects of local health care," said Mary McWilliams, executive director of the Health Alliance.
"Our goal is to help people understand that all health care is not the same, and there are specific actions that doctors, hospitals, patients, health plans and employers can take to help improve the overall quality and affordability of health care in our region," McWilliams said.
The report also shows how consistently recommended care is provided to patients in use of generic drugs, antibiotics and prevention and for patients who have surgery or are treated for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia.
The local Web site comes on the heels of a government site, hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, launched in March, which lets consumers compare up to three hospitals nationwide.
The Health Alliance will publish the second Community Checkup report later this year and update results online.
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