The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has made available software that makes it easier and faster for a state, hospital or other healthcare organizations to analyze and post healthcare quality data.
The software, dubbed "My Own Network powered by AHRQ," or MONAHRQ, enables providers to create a customized Web site that can be used to chart the clinic's healthcare outcomes or for reporting those results to the public, the agency said in an announcement June 3.
The Windows-based MONARHQ software is free and can be downloaded from AHRQ's Web site.
The cost of creating a Web site from the ground up for this data is typically about $300,000 and could take up to a year or more to complete, according to states that tested the software for AHRQ as it was being developed. The Web site application cut that time to a few days.
For example, the Hawaii Health Information Corp., which tested the software, plans to recommend that they use it to publicly report their quality data, the agency said.
An organization can enter its own hospital administrative data, including patient characteristics, diagnoses, procedures, health insurance type and charges.
The tool processes that information and then creates a Web site that the organization can customize by selecting a specific color scheme, inserting logos and using other features, according to the announcement. The software provides a step-by-step approach to analyzing the quality data and to generate the Web site.
"MONAHRQ will revolutionize how states and others report data publicly or use it to improve health care quality," said Dr. Carolyn Clancy, AHRQ director. The tool will also help consumers make informed decisions about hospital care because they will have access to current data about how providers perform.
A Web site created using MONAHRQ can provide information about quality of care for specific hospitals, including statistics about patient safety and mortality rates after specific surgeries, such as coronary bypass surgery.
The online site can also supply measures about hospital services, such as the number of patient discharges, the costs and lengths of hospitalizations by condition, for instance, hip replacement surgeries.
MONAHRQ also can create maps of county-by-county rates for potentially avoidable hospitalizations by health condition, such as diabetes, and for the prevalence of selected illnesses and medical procedures.
