Health Care Quality Report Highlights Improvements in Care

Contact: Rachel Enerson, Neuger Communications Group enerson@neuger.com, 612-664-0700 (office) or 507-696-9207 (cell) 

[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:01AM, 02.15.18: MNCM 2017 Health Care Quality Report Release]

[February 15, 2018] MN Community Measurement (MNCM), an independent non-profit organization that collects and reports health care data to drive statewide system improvement, today released its 2017 Health Care Quality Report. This 14th annual report provides data related to preventive and chronic care comparing statewide, regional, medical group and clinic performance. 

A highlight of this year’s analysis is improvement in quality measures related to mental health. The rate of Adolescent Depression and/or Mental Health Screening increased by nine percentage points since last year’s report, from 64 to 73 percent. Since 2015, the rate for this measure has improved 33 percentage points resulting in over 45,000 more adolescents across Minnesota receiving screening for depression during this time period. 

Improvements were also seen in measures for adult depression care follow-up and outcomes. Depression is a common and treatable mental disorder. According to a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NCHS), it is estimated that over 8 percent of American adults had an episode of major depression in a given two week period. MNCM’s suite of depression measures was developed to increase follow-up and improve depression outcomes. 

This year’s report shows improvement in three of the depression measures: 

• The depression follow-up rate at 12 months increased by nearly five percentage points, from 22.8 to 27.3 percent
• The depression response rate at 12 months (fewer symptoms after starting treatment) improved by nearly two percentage points, from nine to 11 percent
• The depression remission rate at 12 months (no symptoms or very few symptoms after starting treatment) improved by over one percentage point, from five to six percent. This represents over 5,800 patients with depression symptoms in remission.

Entira Family Clinics – West St. Paul had the top depression follow-up rate at 69 percent, the top response rate at 44 percent and the top remission rate at 39 percent. 

These improvements reflect better follow-up with patients and improved communication between patients and their primary care providers, and between primary care providers and behavioral health providers. Most importantly, these numbers reflect overall better outcomes for patients with depression. 

“We still have a long way to go, but it’s encouraging to see progress in screening, follow-up and outcomes for depression,” said Julie Sonier, MNCM President. “While the statewide improvements may appear small, they reflect tangible improvements for real people with a very challenging chronic disease. The most important news is that the hard work of follow-up is showing progress, and patients are benefiting with improved depression outcomes. The fact that all of these measures are trending upward shows that Minnesota health care providers’ efforts in this area are paying off.”

Other notable improvements in quality measures and trends over time included:

• In the Colorectal Cancer Screening measure, the rate has increased nine percentage points since 2011 from 64 percent to 73 percent representing over 116,000 more patients being screened for colorectal cancer. Three medical groups had colorectal cancer screening rates at 90 percent or higher: Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility – Maple Grove, CentraCare Health Plaza – Internal Medicine and Catalyst Medical Clinic in Watertown.
• Since 2012, the rate for adolescent immunization increased 33 percentage points from 53 to 86 percent. This means that 9,400 more adolescents in Minnesota received recommended immunizations (one dose of meningococcal vaccine and one tetanus, diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine) before their thirteenth birthday. Wayzata Children’s Clinic and Southdale Pediatrics Associates had the top adolescent immunization rate at 98 percent.

The report also highlights fifteen medical groups with consistent high performance on three or more quality measures over three years and 17 medical groups with consistent improvement on three or more quality measures over the same time period. 

To read the full report and explore other measures statewide, visit mncm.org/health-care-quality-report. The annual report is a compilation of all quality measures publicly reported by MNCM during the year. Individual clinic and medical group results are available at MNHealthScores.org and updated as new data become available. 

MNCM’s goal with the Health Care Quality Report and other initiatives is to provide reliable information to support both quality improvement in the medical community and health care transparency with the public. According to the 2017 Price Transparency and Physician Quality Report Card from Altarum Institute and Catalyst for Payment Reform, Minnesota was one of only two states that earned an “A” for our outstanding work in physician quality websites through MNHealthScores.org. About MN Community Measurement MN Community Measurement is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health by publicly reporting health care information. A trusted source of health care data and public reporting on quality, cost and patient experience since 2003, MNCM works with medical groups, health plans, employers, consumers and state agencies to spur quality improvement, reduce health care costs and maximize value. Learn more at MNCM.org and MNHealthScores.org.