Florida Hospital Association to Release New Hospital Price, Cost, Quality Website But Need for More Comprehensive Data Still Exists

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Florida Hospital Association (FHA) are in the process of developing a new website that will display hospital price, cost and quality data in a publicly available, easy-to-use format. Florida hospitals have been providing price, cost and quality data to the state and federal governments for many years – reporting extensive amounts of clinical-performance, financial and operational data to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and Department of Health.. However, unlike states like Colorado and New Hampshire who collect the most complete health-care data sets through All Payer Claims Databases (APCD), Florida does not. According to Bruce Rueben, president of the Florida Hospital Association, published in the Orlando Sentinel, an APCD will provide the most effective source of usable data to improve health-care costs, access and quality in Florida. But FHA-member hospitals are not waiting to deliver on their responsibility to provide useful price and performance information. Rueben says they are ready to work with all stakeholders, including providers, insurers, consumers, the business community, lawmakers and state officials, to improve the usefulness of the data we provide today. Hospital data is a good start, but they must work toward a more comprehensive data set that captures the full scope of where they invest their health-care dollars. Collaboration and a good-faith effort by all stakeholders is the best approach to improving our understanding of the cost and value of Florida health care.