Proving your worth. Information systems can help hospitals and physicians document quality

To attract and retain the technologically sophisticated employees needed to compete in today's global economy, American corporations must provide premium employee health benefit packages. Thus they are increasingly demanding proof of quality and cost-effectiveness in benefit plans. One aid in this effort is clinical performance information systems. These systems can help businesses select for their benefit plans the healthcare providers that produce the greatest improvement in the health status and productivity of employees or plan subscribers per dollar spent, known as medical care value purchasing. The systems also help hospital trustees, executives, and medical staff work together to demonstrate and improve the quality of medical care they provide, known as medical care value enhancement. Corporate purchasers of healthcare must quickly learn how to take part in medical care value purchasing. In turn, healthcare providers must learn at least as quickly how to assess, improve, and market the value of their care to these purchasers. Providers must be able to use the same clinical performance information systems that purchasers will use to evaluate their own clinical quality and cost-effectiveness.