Healthcare reform and its impact on data collection and dissemination.

Making quality- and outcome-related information available to healthcare consumers and purchasers is a central tenet of the Health Security Act, and few in healthcare oppose this provision of the Act--in concept, says Robert Hartley, MD, MBA, Vice President, Christian Health Services. Consumers and purchasers need such information to make informed choices about their healthcare options. However, the Act does not make clear how or by whom quality measurement data are to be collected and disseminated, nor by what criteria healthcare providers will be held accountable.