Washington's HealthCareCompare Consumer Transparency Site Goes Live!

June 2018 -- Onpoint is partnering with the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness (CHSE) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Forum One on behalf of Washington State's Office of Financial Management in the development of an innovative new consumer website, Washington HealthCareCompare (Figures 1-3), which launched on June 29, 2018. Supporting OHSU in its Lead Organization role, Onpoint developed the Washington All-Payer Health Care Claims Database (WA-APCD), which is used to generate the healthcare service price and quality metrics displayed on the website that allow Washington residents to compare the cost and quality of hospital and primary care services across the state. With the launch of their website, Washington has taken a big leap forward in providing consumers with information to assist in making informed choices about their healthcare.

The Washington HealthCareCompare website is one of many use cases being supported by the WA-APCD, which includes longitudinal claims data for more than four million Washingtonians since 2013. The consumer site enables users to compare median prices and price ranges for more than 80 medical procedures and view estimated costs by facility. The site also includes the results of the statewide Common Measures Set, which is generated from claims and other data sources encompassing individual quality measures summarized at several levels, including state, accountable health community, county, hospital, and primary care practice.

“After two years of hard work and dedication, we are pleased to announce the launch of the WA-APCD website – Washington HealthCareCompare,” notes John McConnell, Director of the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness. “Reaching this project milestone would not have been possible without our partner, Onpoint. Their expertise with complex health data and superb team dynamics have helped deliver an outstanding product to Washington State.”

Washington HealthCareCompare is one of only a handful of consumer-facing websites across the nation to encourage public price transparency and quality comparison. Researchers and others who would like to analyze data for their own needs can submit requests through CHSE and access their data through the Onpoint Analytic Enclave. Onpoint is excited to play an integral role in such an important and innovative service for Washington citizens.

Figure 1. Using Washington HealthCareCompare to compare healthcare prices and quality

 

Figure 2. Viewing cost and quality performance across Washington's Accountable Communities for Health


Figure 3.
 Finding prices for medical procedures and other healthcare services or therapies