Improving Quality and Patient Experience: The State of Health Care Quality 2013

NCQA’s 2013 State of Health Care Quality Report summarizes Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) results from calendar year 2012 from health plans covering a record 136 million people, or 43 percent of the US population. The report comes at a pivotal time, amid implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and that law’s diverse effects on access and quality. The 2013 report’s key findings include: stagnant or declining performance in appropriate use of antibiotics; continued improvement in childhood obesity measures; mixed results regarding childhood immunization; sustained decline in initiation of alcohol and drug treatment; and better experience of care in Medicaid HMOs.