eAlert Tue, 06/12/2007 - 12:00 107ea796-55ee-4416-aebe-662b8c8a4432

<p>This morning, the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System released the first-ever comprehensive comparison of health system performance in all 50 states. <a href="/cnlib/pub/enews_clickthrough.htm?enews_item_id=28766&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecommonwealthfund%2Eorg%2Fpublications%2Fpublications%5Fshow%2Ehtm%3Fdoc%5Fid%3D494551%26%23doc494551">Aiming Higher: Results from a State Scorecard on Health System Performance</a> ranks states on 32 performance indicators of access, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, equity, and "healthy lives."<br><br>The report compares each state's performance to benchmarks that have already been achieved in states across the country. Although some states ranked highly on multiple indicators, no single state or group of states scored top marks in every area. Some, however, far surpassed others: Hawaii and states in the Northeast and Upper Midwest often rank high in multiple areas, while states with the lowest rankings tend to be concentrated in the South. Across states, health care access and quality were found to be highly correlated.<br><br>"Where you live clearly matters: for access to care when you need it, the quality of care you receive, and opportunities to live healthier lives," says Fund senior vice president Cathy Schoen, one of the report's authors. The analysis also estimates how much the nation would save in human and economic costs if all states attained the level of performance reached by the top states.<br><br>The report is now available for free download on <a href="">www.commonwealthfund.org</a&gt;, where you can also find our <a href="/statescorecard/">interactive U.S. map</a> containing rankings and performance data for each state.<br><br>See <a href="/ChartCart/">ChartCart</a> for related charts.</p>

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2007/jun/fund-commission-issues-first-state-scorecard-on-health-system-performance