2011 Annual Report

This report highlights data published on the Illinois Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care website (www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov). It also provides an overview of key related quality and safety initiatives of the Division of Patient Safety and Quality (the Division) at the Illinois Department of Public Health. The Division was established in late 2007 in response to the Illinois Hospital Report Card Act (210 ILCS86) and Illinois Health Finance Reform Act (20 ILCS 2215), and is responsible for publishing the Illinois Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide website.

The Division of Patient Safety and Quality is dedicated to fostering improvements in health care quality and patient safety, and raising public awareness through transparent reporting of health care quality measures. Putting the spotlight on health care quality issues helps inform public health policy and can activate changes to improve the health and well-being of our communities. High quality health care should result in positive and targeted health outcomes in communities, be guided by evidence-based best practices, and have cost value.

The Division is responsible for the collection of patient discharge data from Illinois hospitals and ambulatory surgery treatment centers. Collecting, measuring and analyzing data are essential components of the Division’s work and facilitate the public reporting of health care quality measures.

The Illinois Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care website was developed to provide ready access to these reports to consumers. Data is compiled from an array of sources including the discharge data set, the Illinois Annual Hospital and Ambulatory Surgery Center Profile, Illinois nurse staffing data, the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network surveillance system, and the Department’s Vital Records. The Illinois Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care (HRCCGH) website has had six releases since its inception in November, 2009. This includes a new feature of the website called the Illinois Public Health Community Map, which was launched in the spring of 2011. This feature examines issues related to quality of health care at the community level. The HRCCGH website currently displays over a 175 indicators of quality, safety, utilization and charges for specific procedures and conditions. The site receives on average over 5000 visitors each month. Approximately 73 percent of visitors are new to the site. This report highlights data published on the HRCCGH since its launch in 2009 and associated patient safety and quality initiatives. For more detailed reports, please visit the HRCCGH web site directly at www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov.