How does Preventive Care Work at Partners HealthCare?

Preventive care aims to prevent illness, or detect illness in its earliest and most treatable stage. Effective preventive care has great impact on the patient experience: it can improve outcomes, shorten recovery time, or even help patients avoid treatment altogether. Screening for cancer or chronic disease, vaccinations, and support for lifestyle changes are examples of preventive care.

The Partners system at work

• Traditional sources of quality and safety data that rely on administrative billing data such as the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) do not accurately reflect clinical preventive care or facilitate care improvement. We developed our own measurement systems using our own electronic health record (EHR),Partners eCare, which collects clinical data that often does not make it to the insurance billing record. 
• Measurement is only one step. We strive for the same prevention goals across the system, and target screenings to those who need them the most. Partners Population Health Coordinators provide consistency and follow up to ensure all of our patients receive the necessary preventive care.
• Why does that matter? Because good preventive care lets us catch diseases earlier, even at the precursor stage, bettering outcomes, lowering health care costs, and improving the quality of life of patients and their families everywhere. In many ways, prevention is the most important thing we do at Partners.
• Since most preventive care happens in primary care, we’re also reporting data from our primary care medical practices – a significant innovation in the industry. Patients can now search and review the quality and safety measures not only at different hospitals, but at the practice level as well.

Patient Impact 

Featured Measures