Resources
Empowering Patients
The Empowered Patient Coalition. As one of our first projects, the coalition has developed The Empowered Patient Guide to Hospital Care for Patients and Families, a detailed and comprehensive patient guide to hospital care which will give consumers a blue print for interacting with the health care system in ways that are safe, successful and empowering. The coalition has also developed a The Free Fact Sheets which is a detailed and comprehensive set of "Fact Sheets" which will empower consumers of healthcare.
The Informed Patient Institute. The Informed Patient Institute (IPI) is an independent nonprofit organization that provides credible online information about health care quality and patient safety for consumers. IPI rates websites that provide performance information about health care providers and professionals as well as the usefulness of online doctor, hospital, and nursing home report cards. They don't rate individual health facilities or practitioners — but will tell you who does.
Questions Are The Answer Get more involved in your health care at:
http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/
CAPS Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS) is introducing a new online forum at www.patientsafety.org where consumers and healthcare providers can share information to improve healthcare safety.
Office of the Healthcare Advocate Help with CT managed care plans. View
Health News Review Objective ratings of health and medical journalism. View
Foundation for Informed Decision Making to ensure that patients understand their choices and have the information and support they need to make sound medical decisions. View
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Empowering patients through knowledge about a variety of relevant issues View
National Committee for Quality Assurance Measuring quality – Improving Healthcare View
National Institute of Health, Drug Watch Keeping an eye on pharmaceuticals View
The Safe Patient Resource Center Learn how to be a SAFE PATIENT and experience your best expected outcome by reducing the risk of potential medical errors. View
Cochrane Consumer Network (CCNet) The Cochrane Consumer Network consists of people committed to the importance of consumer participation in informed healthcare decision-making processes. If you can go online, you can find summaries of the best evidence on health care at: http://summaries.cochrane.org. The Cochrane Consumer Network exists to support health care users, their parents and carers learn about evidence-based healthcare. It encourages consumers throughout the world to give their perspectives and help set priorities for health care.
Hospitals
Joint Commission Find a health care organization that meets The Joint Commission's patient safety and quality standards ... View
Hospital Compare This tool provides you with information on how well the hospitals in your area care for all their adult patients with certain medical conditions. This information will help you compare the quality of care hospitals provide. Hospital Compare was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and organizations that represent hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations, other Federal agencies and the public. View
The Leapfrog Group Hospital quality ratings View
Compare Hospitals 2007 National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports - View
National Committee for Quality Assurance Measuring quality – Improving Healthcare View
The Informed Patient Institute. The Informed Patient Institute (IPI) is an independent nonprofit organization that provides credible online information about health care quality and patient safety for consumers. IPI rates websites that provide performance information about health care providers and professionals as well as the usefulness of online doctor, hospital, and nursing home report cards. They don't rate individual health facilities or practitioners — but will tell you who does.
Doctors
Citizens For Responsible Care and Research (CIRCARE) provides links to find information about physician licensure, training, and disciplinary history as well as a wealth of other information related to medical research and treatment.
CT Physician profiles verify licenses and certifications for most licensed healthcare and environmental health practitioners, certified nurse aides in the Connecticut State Registry and verify licenses for various healthcare facilities including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and clinics.
Federation of State Medical Boards Search each state's disciplinary database and Physician profiles and disciplinary histories
Rate and Review Physicians On RateMDs.com users are asked to consider a doctor's knowledge, helpfulness and punctuality when providing a rating.
The Informed Patient Institute. The Informed Patient Institute (IPI) is an independent nonprofit organization that provides credible online information about health care quality and patient safety for consumers. IPI rates websites that provide performance information about health care providers and professionals as well as the usefulness of online doctor, hospital, and nursing home report cards. They don't rate individual health facilities or practitioners — but will tell you who does.
Infections
Infection Prevention Toolkit Approximately 2 million health-care-associated infections occur in hospitals in the United States each year ... CDC link. A free copy of the 2005 International Infection Prevention Week tool kit is available from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. ... View
Consumers Union Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. CU features information, links and resources on their Hospital Acquired Infections page. HAIs are a leading cause of death in the U.S. and Consumers Union supports public disclosure of infection rates so that you can choose the safest hospital and hospitals will have an incentive to improve. In 2008, CU also launched several other initiatives, including ConsumerReportsHealth.org and the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, which serve to educate and empower consumers to make more informed health-care decisions and to help change the market.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC invests its annual budget in projects that positively impact the health of people everywhere. See their page on Healthcare-associated infections View
CT DPH - Healthcare Associated Infections Program Web Page In 2006, the Connecticut legislature established the Committee on Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) and charged it with advising the Connecticut Department of Health (DPH) with respect to the development, implementation, operation, and monitoring of a mandatory reporting system for HAIs in Connecticut. Site includes public reporting, naming hospitals, on central line infections rates. View
Medicare and Social Security
There are two organizations that are experts in Medicare: the Medicare Rights Center and the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
Medicare the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS
Nursing Home Compare - CMS Adds Searchable Database of Lowest-Quality Nursing Homes Nationwide to Web Site. Nursing Home Compare is a searchable database with the names of the nursing homes that rank the lowest 5% to 10% in quality based on State inspection results.
Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices
Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project Initiative supports a strong FDA oversight system that ensures that medical devices are safe and effective before they are sold and monitors devices to make sure they are not harming patients. They offer a wealth of information, links and resources on their Medical Device Safety page.
Consumer Union Best Buy Drugs Best Buy Drugs is a public education project. It will help you talk to your doctor about prescription drugs, and find the most effective and safe drugs that also give you the best value for your health care dollar.... more
ProPublica ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
Community Catalyst Community Catalyst, a national advocacy organization, has been giving consumers a voice in health care reform for more than a decade. They provide leadership and support to state and local consumer organizations, policymakers and foundations that are working to guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care for everyone.
DrugWatch Keeping an eye on pharmaceuticals. Read more here.
WorstPills.org WorstPills.org is a project of Public Citizen, a non-profit group that advocates for health, safety and democracy. WorstPills.org's own doctors and pharmacists "review the leading medical literature to write our drug profiles and we update your drug's information every six months. Our goal is to provide you with accurate, unbiased information - which is why we don't take any money from the government or corporations, including drug companies."
For Additional Information (Links)
Commonwealth Fund supports independent research on health care issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy. The U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world, and it yields worse results than the systems in Britain, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, according to a report issued by the Commonwealth Fund. The report found that the U.S. differs from better-performing nations by not having universal health insurance.
ProPublica ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
Community Catalyst Community Catalyst, a national advocacy organization, has been giving consumers a voice in health care reform for more than a decade. We provide leadership and support to state and local consumer organizations, policymakers and foundations that are working to guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care for everyone.
Consumers Union Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. In 2008, CU also launched several initiatives, including ConsumerReportsHealth.org and the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, which serve to educate and empower consumers to make more informed health-care decisions and to help change the market.
Mayo Clinic A wealth of information. Read more
Specialty Organizations
Medically induced trauma support services www.mitss.org
VOCA Victims of chiropractic abuse ... more
Reach Your State and Federal Representatives
We encourage our readers to reach out to their representatives to share their concerns and thoughts regarding healthcare in Connecticut and across the nation. We have provided the following links to help you in this endeavor.
State Representatives based on your Residence: Click here for listing and maps
Federal Representatives in the Senate and Congress: Click Here for listing and maps
Reading List for Patients and Advocates
This page includes information on books and publications that support and further efforts to improve the quality of healthcare and to protect the rights of injured patients. Read more
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