Publications

Health care quality measurement serves an increasingly important role in supporting the delivery of high-value health care, guiding improvement activities, and promoting accountability for health-related outcomes across providers.

The HPC will publish a chartpack in order to better understand the impact of the epidemic on the health care system from 2011 to 2015. While the initial report focused on opioid-related hospital inpatient discharges, the new chartpack includes ED visits as well. Below are some highlights from this upcoming chartpack.

In the 2016 Cost Trends Report, the Health Policy Commission (HPC) reported on an increase in prescription drug claims with no cost sharing in the years following the ACA’s implementation across the three largest commercial payers in the Commonwealth. The HPC has now expanded this analysis to better understand the nature of these claims, including the extent to which they comprised claims for contraception services, which represent high-value care.

In the 2016 Cost Trends Report, the Health Policy Commission (HPC) reported that 42% of all ED visits in Massachusetts in 2015 were avoidable, a share that has remained constant since 2011. HPC expanded this analysis to better understand these avoidable ED visits.

In August 2016, the Health Policy Commission (HPC) reported its findings that a substantial number of emergency department (ED) visits are for preventable oral health conditions. ED visits for oral health complaints are a particularly poor use of the health system for both patients and providers alike.