Measuring Quality of Health Care and Access

Note: Each assessment in this course is a step in developing Assessment 6, a proposal for a new health policy in the form of a policy manual. You are strongly encouraged to complete assessments in this course in sequence.

Research access, quality, and cost-effective care and how they benefit stakeholders.

Then, write a 2–3-page paper answering the following questions:

• What role does quality measurement play in assessing the performance of health plans and in assessing the impact of price competition?
• Would you join a health plan without any information on quality, simply because it had the lowest cost? Why or why not?
• Refer to what you learned in your research as you answer the following:
  • Should we, as a society, rely on individual choice of high-quality providers?
  • Should we base our decisions on publicly available report cards to improve health-care quality?
  • Should we rely on institutions (government agencies, for example) to mandate and enforce minimum quality standards? Why or why not?
• How do access, quality, and cost-effective care come together for the benefit of patients? Physicians and providers? Hospitals? Society?

Additional Requirements

• Length: Paper must be 2–3 pages typed and double-spaced, using Times New Roman, 12-point content (length excludes title page, abstract, table of contents, and reference list).
• References: Cite at least three references. Your references may include both scholarly literature and practitioner sources.
• Written communication: Writing must be free of errors, scholarly, and consistent with expectations for business professionals.
• Writing style: APA expectations for scholarly writing include the use of third-person narrative, unless it is awkward to do so.