(Part
two of a series. Part one can be read here , and part three can be read here .)
Two
parallel movements are making hospitals more accountable in terms of
their processes and outcomes: an orientation toward consumers, and an
increasing emphasis on quality by the organizations that pay for
health care - particularly the federal government.
"We're
in kind of a new age," said Dr. Tom Evans, president and CEO of the
Iowa Healthcare Collaborative, an organization formed by the Iowa
Hospital Association and the Iowa Medical Society. "Transparency
wasn't really even germane until recently. We couldn't even
define what good health care was until 15 years ago."