This application seeks AHCPR support for a conference on the use of outcomes data to evaluate health plans, networks, and providers. There is an increasing request for such information, through organizations like the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT), HCFA in its request for a """"""""Health of Seniors"""""""" measure in Medicare Risk programs, and the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) in its ongoing initiative to provide comparative performance data on physician group practices. These new efforts complement existing initiatives on comparative outcomes reporting for cardiac surgery in New York and Pennsylvania. The limited experience to date suggests that much work remains to be done in identifying measures and case mix adjustment methods that provide valid comparisons at either the plan, network, or individual provider levels. The overall goal of the conference will be to evaluate the current state of the art in the field of comparative outcomes data, and to work toward a greater degree of consensus among researchers, providers, and purchasers about how to move the field forward. The conference agenda will be organized around five major headings: theoretical basis for measuring and comparing health outcomes; new empirical research on comparing outcomes among plans, networks, or providers; technical comparisons among alternative health status measures; new developments in case-mix or risk adjustment methods; and stability of comparisons over time. In each section, a primary speaker will provide an overview to the topic, followed by 3-4 presentations of new emprical work. The proposed conference will be held in late April, 1998 in Detroit, MI. A total attendance of approximately 150-200 is planned, selected to reflect a balance of researcher, provider, purchaser, and health policy expert perspectives. The conference will begin with an opening dinner/reception and keynote address, with the next day and a half devoted to the topics listed above. The conference will close with an an interactive survey exercise designed to assess attendees' opinions about key technical and policy issues regarding the use of outcome measures for comparative purposes.
