ANCHOR LEAD IN:
EVER WONDER HOW GOOD YOUR DOCTOR IS? A GROWING NUMBER OF WEBSITES NOW ALLOW CONSUMERS TO GIVE DOCTORS, HEALTH PLANS AND HOSPITALS A FULL MEDICAL WORKUP OF THEIR OWN. IN TODAY'S HEADS UP - HOW PATIENTS CAN DO ONLINE CHECKUPS OF THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY...

TRACK ONE Length: :04
WITHOUT A GOOD DOCTOR, A CHILD'S EVERY BUMP OR SCRATCH CAN BE A CAUSE FOR CONCERN...

NATS FULL Length: :03
No Key @ :
Daddy: "You all better now?"

TRACK TWO Length: :07
VIVIAN JOHNSON KNOWS FIRSTHAND. RECENTLY, SHE WAS TRANSFERRED TO A NEW TOWN AND HAD TO FIND A WHOLE NEW SET OF DOCTORS FOR HER FAMILY.

SOT:
Key @ : :16 Name: Vivian Johnson Title: Went online to find a good doctor
"Since I don't have any family in the area or any references I, I was worried that we might go into a new doctor without knowing any information about them."

TRACK THREE Length: :07
SO, JOHNSON USED HER INSURANCE COMPANY'S MEDICAL WEBSITE... AND DID A LITTLE RESEARCH BEFORE MAKING HER SELECTIONS. SHE'S NOT ALONE...

SOT:
Key @ : :35 Name: Margaret O'Kane Title: President, National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
"A lot of consumers are starting to say maybe I need to pay attention to which health plan I choose, which doctor I go to, which hospital I go to."

TRACK FOUR Length: :16
ONLINE CONSUMER DATABASES ARE NOW BEING OFFERED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES, PRIVATE FIRMS, EVEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE HAS BEEN ANAYLYZING HEALTH CARE DATA SINCE 1990, AND RUNS ITS OWN RESEARCH-BASED WEBSITE. BUT, NOT ALL WEBSITES ARE ALIKE...

SOT:
No Key @ : Name: Margaret O'Kane Title: President, National Committee for Quality Assurance
"There are good sites and there are bad sites."

TRACK FIVE LENGTH: :14
O'KANE SAYS BEFORE TRUSTING THE INFORMATION ON ANY SITE, LOOK FOR THE SOURCE. FOR INSTANCE, SOME SITES RANK DOCTORS THROUGH PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS RATHER THAN MEDICAL TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE. SOME COLLECT DATA DIRECTLY FROM DOCTORS, HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL BOARDS.

SOT:
Key @ : 1:14 Name: Margaret O'Kane Title: President, National Committee for Quality Assurance
"There are commercial companies that are using the state databases trying to present them to the consumer in a more user-friendly way."

TRACK SIX Length: :14
INSURANCE COMPANY WEBSITES ARE LIMITED TO CUSTOMERS...BUT THE N-C-Q-A AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SITE, HOSPITALCOMPARE.HHS.GOV ARE FREE TO ANYONE. JUST REMEMBER, WHEREVER YOU LOOK, THE INFORMATION YOU LEARN CAN HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON YOUR FUTURE...

SOT:
No Key @ : Name: Margaret O'Kane Title: President, National Committee for Quality Assurance
"We've learned quality varies a lot. I don't want to be maudlin, but this is a matter of life and death."

ANCHOR TAG:
O'KANE SAYS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS CONSUMERS HAVE WITH THEIR HEALTH CARE IS THE RESOLUTION OF ANY ISSUE THAT GETS CONTESTED. SHE RECOMMENDS THAT YOU LOOK AT RATINGS AND OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HOW YOUR NEW MEDICAL PROVIDER HANDLES DISPUTES BEFORE MAKING YOUR CHOICE.

CONTACT SOURCES:

Margaret O'Kane
President
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
2000 L St. NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
P 202/955-3500 | F 202/955-3599
Press contact:
Barry Scholl
VP, Communications
202-955-3500

Since 1990, Margaret E. O'Kane has served as President of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of health care everywhere. Under Ms. O'Kane's leadership, NCQA has developed broad support among the employer and health plan communities; today many Fortune 100 companies will only do business with NCQA Accredited health plans. About three quarters of the nation's largest employers use Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS(r)) data to evaluate the plans that serve their employees.
Ms. O'Kane was named Health Person of the Year in 1996 by the journal Medicine & Health. She also received a 1997 Founder's Award from The American College of Medical Quality, recognizing NCQA's efforts to improve managed care quality. In 1999, Ms. O'Kane was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine, a highly-regarded organization of health care providers, researchers and others that is frequently called on to help shape national health care policy. In 2000, Ms. O'Kane received the Centers for Disease Control's Champion of Prevention award, the agency's highest honor. The CDC names a Champion of Prevention infrequently, and only when an individual has made a truly notable contribution to advancing preventive health care.
Ms. O'Kane began her career in health care as a respiratory therapist and went on to earn a master's degree in Health Administration and Planning from the Johns Hopkins University.