Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the NH Purchasers Group on Health (NHPGH)?

The NH Purchasers Group is comprised of leadership from the State of New Hampshire Employee Health Benefits Program, the University System of New Hampshire, the NH Local Government Center HealthTrust serving municipalities, schools and county governments throughout NH, and the New Hampshire School Health Care Coalition, a joint labor/management partnership providing health benefits to public employees throughout the state.

Who is the NH Citizens Health Initiative?

The NH Citizens Health Initiative (Initiative) originated from the recommendations of the Pillars Project published in late 2004. The major intent of the Pillars Project, an effort initiated and supported by the Endowment for Health, was to develop a framework for a health care system that provided everyone with access to high-quality, cost-effective care and left no one without health care or coverage. The Pillars Project recognized and reinforced the need for a sustained effort if these goals were to be achieved.

Building upon the work and recommendations of the Pillars Project, the University of New Hampshire and the Endowment for Health identified goals, established the Initiative structure and focus, recruited leadership, and established policy teams in the areas of Quality of Care, Health Promotion Disease Prevention and Finance and Cost Information. Governor John Lynch agreed to support the effort and convened the first meeting of the Initiative.

Who is the Maine Health Management Coalition?

The Maine Health Management Coalition (MHMC) currently publicly reports quality data on primary care practices and hospitals in Maine and major surgeries in New England at www.mhmc.info. The NH Purchasers Group on Health has adopted the MHMC performance measurement and reporting initiatives to provide sound hospital quality measurements to the public.

What is the Hospital Reporting Initiative?

The Hospital Reporting Initiative was designed to create a robust dashboard of measures comparing the performance of New Hampshire hospitals with each other and, where available, with regional and national performance comparisons and to publicly report those measures to inform employer and employee healthcare decisions. Similar approaches have been launched across the nation. (Reference: www.leapfroggroup.org; hospitalcompare.hhs.gov)

Whenever possible, the hospital performance measures used are those that have been endorsed and are already being reported by leading national organizations such as the National Quality Forum, Leapfrog, CMS and The Joint Commission.

Who Prepares the Quality Data for New Hampshire Hospitals?

Through a contract with the Maine Health Information Center (MHIC), the quality on New Hampshire hospitals is abstracted from various sources such as Leapfrog, CMS and the NH Insurance Department, and is processed using the MHMC methodologies.

How often is the Hospital Quality Data Updated?

Hospital rating data will be updated annually at minimum, however, certain ratings may be available more regularly. NHPGH will ensure a message is placed on the website when any data is updated.

Why does the NH Purchasers Group on Health focus on engaging and informing consumers?

National and state data show that treatment patterns and quality vary across providers and across regions. The NHPGH believes that it is critical for all New Hampshire Citizens to become engaged and informed healthcare consumers.

Why does the NH Purchasers Group on Health recognize high quality?

The NHPGH believes that if you provide recognition for hospitals demonstrating best quality, you begin to motivate and enable hospitals to change practice models and to make investments in improved systems.

Our quality reporting focused on reporting credible and fair measures that are based on evidence based medicine, reflect best practice, and are under the control of the clinicians and organizational leaders. These measures are meant to be used to measure the safety practices and quality of care in hospitals; recognize high quality hospitals that have given patient safety a high priority; and serve as a basis for financial rewards from self-insured employers and health plans.

Where can I find more information about NHPGH as an organization?

Please visit www.nhpgh.org to learn more about the New Hampshire Purchasers Group on Health, our mission and key strategies.

How does NHPGH determine which hospitals rank highest in quality?

NHPGH uses the following methodology to determine the order in which hospitals will display when the "Highest Rated" sort option is chosen:

• First, the hospitals are arranged highest to lowest based on the number of Blue Ribbons they have earned. Hospitals with three Blue Ribbons will always rank higher than hospitals with two or one Blue Ribbon.
• If more than one hospital has the same number of Blue Ribbons, the hospital’s Pie Score is used to determine its ranking. Each hospital’s Pie ratings are assigned a numeric value from 0 through 4; a full Pie equals 4, ¾ of a Pie equals 3, ½ of a Pie equals 2, ¼ of a Pie equals 1, and "did not report" or "too few cases" are equal to zero. The Pie rankings are added together to determine that hospital's Pie Score.
• After ordering the hospitals by the number of Blue Ribbons, the hospitals are then arranged highest to lowest by Pie Score. For example, a hospital with three Blue Ribbons and the highest Pie Score will be ranked first when using the Highest Rated sort option.