Patients want input on health reform

Members of the advisory committee to one of the state boards implementing health care reform urged the panel to convene a group of patients and families to help guide their decisions.

The advice from patients, committee members argued, would inform the board about issues relevant to average citizens.

Secretary of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby, who chairs the Health Care Quality and Cost Council, said advisors should collaborate on a possible structure for a patient-family advisory group.

Some advisors warned against adding another level of bureaucracy when various consumer groups were already represented on the committee.

Individual advisors also cautioned the council against mandating electronic medical records for doctors with small practices and suggested a change in the oversight of health care from the Division of Insurance to “some other venue.”

Although advisors’ opinions are non-binding, the council convened them to figure out a way to enhance its effectiveness and to engage in a free-wheeling discussion about the direction of the Quality and Cost Council.

After the meeting, advisory committee member Dr. Marylou Buyse said the council should be more proactive in curbing health care costs. She pointed to Senate President Therese Murray’s pending health care cost-control bill (S. 2526) as an example of the measures the council should be handling without legislation.

“[Sen. Murray] started a very important discussion,” Buyse said. “The council should be acting now.”

Members of the council said a web site to provide consumers with comprehensive data about health care providers was set to launch in June.