Health

24 HEALTH • June 15, 2015 Yelp for health care services? O n Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, diners looking for a night out can go on Yelp and pick a restaurant based on cost and quality. On a budget? You can review the menu and calculate in a matter of minutes precisely how much you will spend, all from the comfort of your home. But what if you were setting out to get a mammogram instead? The same stretch of road presents a number of options for patients seek- ing care., and again, the amount you are likely to pay will vary based on where you decide to go. Data collected and analyzed at our agency, the Center for Health Information and Analysis, a state agency established by the 2012 health care cost containment law, show that St. Vincent Hospital is 17 percent less expensive for mammograms than UMass Memorial, and, on average, you would save 52 percent if you went to Reliant Medical Group just a few miles away. Until recently, you may have found yourself Yelp-less when it comes to figuring out the cost of health care services ahead of time. But that's changed. GetTheDealOnCare.org, a website run by the state's Office of Consumer Affairs, helps consumers make more informed decisions when shopping for health care services. By visiting GetTheDealOnCare.org, you can quickly access your plan's online cost estimator. These cost estimators allow you to calculate costs associated with a health care service—your out-of- pocket cost—based on how much you have spent on your deductible, your co-pay, and your particular health insurance plan. This cost information, which health insurers in Massachusetts are required by law to make available, can be especially help- ful if you are enrolled in a high deductible plan or are responsible for paying a percentage of total medical expenses. You can even compare doc- tors, hospitals, and other medical pro- viders by price. What influences cost? Why do prices vary so much? It's hard to say – insurers and doctors set these prices through negotiations that remain confidential. Most people who study the question conclude that a number of factors influence those discussions, including the size and characteristics of the provider, the mix of patients they see, the cost of providing the service, and the quality of care. Evaluating quality of care can be subjective, but what we know suggests that you are not forced to sacrifice quality of care in order to realize cost savings. Despite wide variations in price, the quality of care offered by Massachusetts providers tends to be quite good across the board. There are, however, opportunities for con- tinued improvement. One resource for comparing the quality of primary care physicians is Healthcarecompassma.org, a website run by the nonprofit group Massachusetts Health Quality Partners. This site–and others like it –is designed to help you make deci- sions about where to get your health care, and to help you work with your doctors and other healthcare provid- ers to get the best care for you and your family. A clearer picture of quality needed However, if you spend much time on that site you'll realize that it doesn't provide a full picture of pro- vider quality. Many of the standards used to measure quality focus on pro- cesses of care rather than the patient outcomes, and others areas of care, such as mammography, are missing appropriate measures entirely. The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), is working to change that. We're focused on collab- orating with health plans and other state agencies towards a common goal: to create a future where a patient driving down Shrewsbury Street might have as much information about cost and quality as someone who just wants a bite to eat. Áron Boros is executive director of the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). CONSUMER ADVICE By Áron Boros

• Cover