FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Martin, Communications Director
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Certificate Award Recipients for Calendar Year 2004
Harrisburg, PA - August 12, 2005 - Seventeen health care facilities in Pennsylvania were awarded Certificates of Excellence by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) for exceeding data submission requirements in calendar year 2004. PHC4, an independent state agency with a national reputation for groundbreaking health care reporting, requires Pennsylvania hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to submit accurate, timely health care data.
"This year’s award winners play an essential role in helping PHC4 to provide accurate and credible information about the cost and quality of our state’s health care services," said Marc P. Volavka, PHC4’s Executive Director. "The commitment to public reporting by these facilities is commendable, and reflects their commitment to improving the overall health care system."
One UPMC facility – St. Margaret – was the only hospital to earn Certificates of Excellence for both inpatient and outpatient CY2004 data submissions. UPMC St. Margaret, UPMC Southside, and Washington Hospital earned Certificates of Excellence for inpatient submissions for the third consecutive year, and UPMC St. Margaret earned a Certificate of Excellence for outpatient submissions for the fourth consecutive year.
In order to earn Certificates of Excellence, facilities had to be in the top 20th percentile of facilities with the lowest initial error rates and meet deadlines for all quarterly data submissions without needing any extensions for all four quarters in 2004. Another 30 facilities achieved Certificates of Achievement for meeting these requirements for three out of four quarters, as well as all minimum compliance requirements for the other quarter.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council is an independent state agency charged with collecting, analyzing and reporting information that can be used to improve the quality and restrain the cost of health care in Pennsylvania. Additional information about PHC4 and its public reports are available on the Council’s Web site at http://www.phc4.org.