DOH Quality Committee Discusses DSRIP, Provider Profiles

The Department of Health’s (DOH) Quality Advisory Committee met on Nov. 14 in New York City to discuss the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, updated online provider profiles, the Quality Institute and other initiatives.

LeadingAge NY is a member of the committee, which also includes hospital, managed care plan and consumer representatives. The committee’s charge is to provide DOH with expertise in various sectors of health care quality, assist on proposed quality improvement goals and provide guidance on measuring and reporting quality information to the public.

DOH reviewed proposed measures for the DSRIP high performing fund and asked the Quality Advisory Committee for input.  Under the terms of DSRIP, Performing Provider Systems that achieve a high level of performance on ten metrics may be eligible for additional payments. The group discussed the ten metrics which relate to avoidable hospitalizations, behavioral health and cardiovascular disease, as well as the thresholds related to high performance.  

DOH staff discussed the State’s plans to provide updated online NYS Health Profiles for hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and managed care plans. The new hospital profile was launched on Sept. 14 and provides users with a more user-friendly presentation and enhanced ability to quickly search and compare hospitals on selected measures. DOH is currently working with IPRO on the updated nursing home and home health agency profiles, and expects to release them in the near future. A managed care performance profile will be released in 2015.  The Quality Advisory Committee will have an opportunity to view and provide input on the updated profiles before they are publicly launched.

The United Hospital Fund’s Quality Institute and the New York State Partnership for Patients – an initiative to reduce hospital-acquired infections by 40 percent and preventable readmissions by 20 percent – were also discussed.

Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866