In a special edition of its magazine, Consumer Reports is publishing ratings of 19 Wisconsin medical groups which, combined, serve nearly half the state's patients.
The ratings are the result of a special collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) with whom the medical groups have voluntarily shared their performance data.
Two groups—Marshfield Clinic and ThedaCare Physicians—earned the highest rating on all but one individual measure. The ratings include one overall score and seven measures based on data that the groups themselves collect on how well they provide essential care, such as screening for certain cancers and vaccinating against pneumonia, and how well they treat people who have heart disease.
Marshfield Clinic finished at the top in screening for:
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Breast cancer
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Colorectal cancer
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Osteoporosis
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Adult pneumococcal vaccination
The Clinic also finished at the top for LDL testing – and control – in patients with vascular disease.
Consumer Reports is producing a special version of its magazine for distribution to subscribers and newsstands in Wisconsin. It will have a different cover, highlighting the story "How Does Your Doctor Compare?" and feature a special, 20-page insert with the ratings of medical groups. The ratings of these groups will also be available online at
www.wchq.org.
Chris Queram, president and chief executive officer of WCHQ, said the success of the medical groups demonstrates the value of measuring their quality and reporting it publicly. "We know from independent research that clinics engaged in public reporting perform better than those that do not," Queram said.
The ratings are published with the WCHQ, a voluntary consortium of Wisconsin health systems, medical groups, hospitals, and health plans, which has publicly reported on health care quality in Wisconsin since 2003.
