1. Executive Vice President for Programs
We Can Be The Best
Stephen C. Schoenbaum, MD, MPH
Executive Vice President for Programs
The Commonwealth Fund
Bipartisan Congressional Health Policy Conference
January 13, 2007

2. Some Summary Points
Coverage, access, quality of care, and efficiency are all interconnected.
Poor access undermines quality, increases costs of care
Example: Hospitals for ambulatory care sensitive conditions
We can do better – can even approach perfection
Results can include lives saved, lower total costs, improved value

3. Reid Hospital; Richmond, Indiana
2004 HQA Ave.*
Reid Hospital
2004
Heart Attack: ACE-inhibitor use 75
100
Congestive failure: ventricular assessment 78 99
Pneumococcal Vaccine 46
*HQA = Hospital Quality Alliance

4. Improvements in Use of Beta Blockers After a Heart Attack
Score in 1996: Score in 2005: 97
Source: National Committee for Quality Assurance, The State of Health Care Quality: 2006, Washington, D.C.: NCQA, 2006.