Healthcare costs are increasing faster than inflation, family income, and wages. We know that the increase in healthcare costs make it more difficult for businesses to compete in today's global market. As healthcare costs increase, businesses have to find a way to remain competitive. Some have chosen to reduce or eliminate the healthcare benefits offered to employees. One major driver of increasing healthcare costs is the increasing number of people who have chronic illnesses such as diabetes or congestive heart failure.

Research shows that better control of chronic diseases will save money and improve patient outcomes. For diabetic patients, for example, better treatment can lead to annual savings of $300-$500 per patient with diabetes. Even conservative estimates suggest that $15 million could be saved annually if North Carolinians could achieve modest gains in the management of their diabetes. As we increase the quality of health provided to our citizens, we can moderate increasing healthcare costs. Furthermore, studies suggest that better health leads to increased productivity in the workplace, meaning that business can save money on healthcare and get more productivity from their employees due to fewer missed days of work.

Governor Easley has called the healthcare community into action to form the Governor’s Quality Initiative (GQI) to ensure that North Carolinians receive the best available care. This initiative will identify a common set of guidelines to use throughout the state to improve the quality of care and reduce any substandard variation of care received from different providers.

The quality measures GQI has chosen are evidence-based and lead to better outcomes such as fewer hospitalizations. Thus, as North Carolinians receive better quality care we can keep health care costs more manageable. In addition, consumers will be actively engaged in promoting their own health. These efforts will lead to better health for employees and their dependents, fewer absences, more productive workforce, and less employee turnover which reduces hiring and training costs.

Initially, the GQI will focus on health care for diabetes, asthma, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and heart attacks. These conditions were selected because they affect many North Carolinians, and there is solid evidence about the best way to treat people with these health problems. As the GQI evolves, initial measures will be modified in accordance with new evidence other conditions will be included. Practices will receive annual reports on their performance on these measures, so that they can identify needed areas of improvement. New models of practice are needed to effectively implement these guidelines, improve quality of care, and positively affect health outcomes. With broad community support, we can improve the quality of health care of all North Carolinians by ensuring that evidence-based best practices are applied uniformly across the entire state.

This initiative is only possible due to the unique partnership of physicians, hospitals, insurers, state government, businesses, and other organizations committed to improving healthcare quality in North Carolina. Using these evidence-based guidelines will improve health outcomes, lower costs, and create a healthier North Carolina.