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Consumer Guide: Health Care Quality

Not all health care is created equal. Some health plans and doctors do a better job than others at helping you with your health. The choices you make about your health plan, doctors, or care facilities can affect the quality of care you get.

We’re here to help you learn how to notice and measure health care quality.

What is high-quality health care?

High-quality health care means that your provider takes the right action:

  • At the right time.
  • In the right way.
  • For the right person.
  • With the best possible results.

How is high-quality health care measured?

There are two main ways health care quality is measured:

  • Consumer ratings—These look at health care from a patient’s point of view. They answer questions, such as how well do doctors in a specific health plan communicate?
  • Clinical performance and technical measures—These look at how well a health care organization prevents and treats illness. They offer data reports to answer questions, such as do kids get the immunizations they need when they need them?

Where can I find details about quality health care?

The good news is that more and more groups are working on ways to measure, report on, and improve the quality of health care. There are different reports on quality, including performance reports and report cards.

Reports on quality don’t tell you which health care choices are best. They can help you choose which are best for you based on what’s important to you. Select a link from the list of report resources to learn more.

Last revised August 29, 2022