Data initiatives: HEDIS and the New England Business Coalition

The New England Business Coalition is a group of 15 health maintenance organizations, large employers, and health care purchasers operating in the New England area. Formally launched in 1994, the coalition's mission is to standardize health care reporting, improve quality, and allow for comparison of managed health care plans for the participating organizations. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and its measurement instrument, the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS) became involved in the coalition's reporting project in 1992 to help the participating plans fulfill their mission of standardization, quality improvement, and comparative evaluation. In the past 5 years, HEDIS has undergone change and development to meet the needs of both health care plans and purchasers who use the HEDIS information to make decisions about health care for employers. Changes enacted within HEDIS have been brought about with the input of HEDIS users such as the New England Business Coalition, a pilot report card project, and a nationally based HEDIS users group. Future enhancements to HEDIS will result in added value for HEDIS users as development and change continue to meet the evolving needs of plans and purchasers.