Objective: The Wisconsin Collaborative Diabetes Quality Improvement Project was initiated in 1999 by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Diabetes Prevention and Control Program to monitor quality of diabetes care among the state's health plans.
Study design: Prospective observational.
Methods: Annual invitations were mailed to all Wisconsin managed care plans to participate in the project. Collaborators submitted Comprehensive Diabetes Care Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures, as well as other selected HEDIS measures. Data were summarized and reported anonymously back to the collaborators at quarterly forums and in annual reports.
Results: Five of the 6 Comprehensive Diabetes Care HEDIS measures have improved significantly in Wisconsin since 1999. Despite this improvement, measure variation across health plans remains high. Collaborators have continued to share resources and best practices at quarterly forums and through statewide initiatives.
Conclusions: This project is an example of an ongoing statewide collaborative quality improvement effort among otherwise competing health plans. Collaboration at regular forums, sharing of HEDIS data to assess quality of diabetes care in health plans, and sharing of resources and best practices may have contributed to improvements in the quality of diabetes care in Wisconsin.