Oregon

ORIGIN AND MISSION
State health reform legislation (Enrolled House Bill 2009) was signed into law in June 2009.  This legislation establishes a broad entity, the Oregon Health Authority, to streamline state functions, one of which is to (via the Oregon Health Authority’s Policy Board) help set the state quality agenda in coordination with existing, external QI efforts.  The legislation demonstrates a statewide commitment to QI.

Oregon has an informal public/private partnership to coordinate, communicate, and implement a range of quality initiatives in the state. The following organizations are involved:

•    The Oregon Health Policy Commission (OHPC) was enacted in 2003 (HB 3653) and is administered through the Office for Oregon Health Policy & Research (OHPR). The OHPC is comprised of 10 commission members who represent the state’s congressional districts and 4 non-voting legislators who serve as advisory members to the OHPC. The OHPC collects and evaluates data on Oregon’s health care system and provides information and policy recommendations to the governor and legislature;

•    The Oregon Health Fund Board (OHFB), developed out of the Oregon Health Policy Commission, was chartered under the 2007 Healthy Oregon Act (SB 329) to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure affordable quality health care for every Oregonian. OHFB is comprised of seven citizen Board members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate;

•    The Oregon Patient Safety Commission is a semi-independent state agency that partners with public and private stakeholders to improve safety in Oregon’s health care delivery system; and 

•    The Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation (Quality Corp) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) multi-stakeholder organization that brings together public and private stakeholders in a neutral forum to identify and implement strategic projects for improving health care through community based activities. The Quality Corp is the state’s Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Aligning Forces for Quality grantee.

GOVERNANCE
The partnership does not have a separate governance structure, but the partners frequently participate as board members of each other’s organizations. For example, the Office of Health Policy and Research, which administers the Oregon Health Policy Commission, also staffs the Oregon Health Fund Board. OHPR’s administrator sits on the Public Employee Benefits Board and the board of The Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation. There is a close connection with the Medicaid and public health divisions in both the Quality Corporation and the Patient Safety Commission. Each partner has funding for its initiatives; the partnership does not have separate funding at this time.

ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The partnership does not have its own mission but has worked collaboratively on:

•    Electronic health records,

•    Quality data reporting and transparency,

•    Value-based purchasing,

•    Patient safety and engagement, and

•    Coordinated state agency quality action plan (in conjunction with AcademyHealth’s Quality Improvement Institute).

Oregon hopes to build on partners’ previous and continuing efforts, including:

•    A Chronic Disease Clearinghouse pilot led by the Quality Corp, Oregon Asthma Network, Oregon Diabetes Coalition, and Department of Human Services, which is providing information for statewide development and collection of outpatient primary care evidence-based measures. The goal is to improve the treatment of asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression (led by the Quality Corp);

•    OHPR’s creation of a website with AHRQ hospital quality indicators. OHPR is working to accomplish quality reporting via cost data (insurance), health care charges data (claims), and crosswalk indicators, which are currently posted online;

•    The OHFB created a new special focus workgroup on health equities. Hospital data sets will now report racial/ethnic data and will add ambulatory surgical data.