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WISCONSIN RANKS SECOND IN THE UNITED STATES ON KEY HEALTH CARE MEASURES

MADISON - In a state-by-state health care performance evaluation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), has designated Wisconsin as one of the “Best Performing States.” Wisconsin ranked second in key measures of health care performance.

“This is a testament to the tremendous commitment of the state’s health care providers to deliver quality health care to Wisconsin’s citizens,” said Secretary Kevin R. Hayden. “I congratulate our healthcare workers on keeping Wisconsin a national leader in many areas.”

This AHRQ annual analysis is designed to help health leaders and government policy makers identify areas of health care delivery that can be targeted for improvement. It examines the 50 States and the District of Columbia, and summarizes health care quality in three dimensions: (1) type of care, e.g., preventive, acute, etc.; (2) setting of care, e.g., long term care settings, hospitals, etc.; and (3) clinical areas, e.g., cancer care, diabetes care, etc. 

Wisconsin continues to be a front-runner in ensuring that our citizens receive quality health care. Innovative regulatory practices, along with numerous quality improvement initiatives involving health care providers, advocacy groups and the State of Wisconsin, have helped reduce the use of restraints and the incidence of pressure ulcers in our health care facilities. Wisconsin also has strong initiatives on diabetes and respiratory disease prevention and treatment.

States are ranked on the basis of 15 “selected measures.” Though Wisconsin has room for improvement in some areas, overall performance of the state was sufficiently strong to earn a number two ranking.  “Though we strive to continuously improve, we can be justifiably proud of our health care industry in Wisconsin,” added Hayden.

For more detail on the performance measures and Wisconsin’s ranking.

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Last Revised:  May 19, 2008