Measuring the quality of health care requires a number of complicated technical decisions. Partner for Quality Care manages a community-wide process to resolve these complex issues by seeking input from key health care stakeholders — those who give care, get care, and those who pay for health care. This section highlights how scores were computed and how key decisions were made.
How scores were computed
Scores for each measure, or "topic", are calculated by comparing the number of people who actually received a recommended health care service to the number of people who should have received that health care service. To determine who received recommended health care services, Compare Your Care receives claims (billing) data from Oregon’s largest health plans, the Oregon Health Authority’s Division of Medical Assistance Programs, and Medicare fee-for-service. The measures that include Medicare fee-for-service data include the following:
- Women’s Health: Mammograms (Breast Cancer Screening)
- Diabetes Care: Blood Sugar Test
To learn more about the Qualified Entity program that allows us to receive and use Medicare fee-for-service data, visit cms.hhs.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Monitoring-Programs/QEMedicareData/index.html. Our procedures comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
How measures ("topics") were selected
Nationally endorsed measures were selected based on their usefulness to our community. Our goal is to help Oregonians better understand recommended care for common chronic conditions as well as essential preventive services.
Data measurement period
Data is from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The measurement period varies by measure, but in general, the data come from 2020.
Assigning patients to a doctor's office
Accountability for a patient's care was assigned to a doctor's office based primarily on which adult primary care doctor the patient saw the most during the measurement year and the year prior. Doctors were linked to offices and medical groups using a provider directory developed for Oregon.
Sorting order
Results for doctors' offices and medical groups may be viewed alphabetically or based on score. Unless otherwise specified, results are automatically sorted based on score, from highest to lowest.
When there are multiple topics on one page (such as mammogram, pap test and chlamydia test for women's health), the sort order is based on the score for the first measure displayed ("Better," "Average," or "Below") for each topic rather than the underlying percentage.
In situations where clinics or medical groups are tied on the sort order, they are listed alphabetically.
National comparisons
Averages for Oregon clinics are compared to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) quality scores that are computed using claims data from voluntarily participating health plans.
More detailed technical information is available here.