About the Report

Please note this report is not intended to be anyone's sole source of information about quality or charges in Utah. Rather, it is designed to provide helpful information that can play an important role in choosing health care facilities, along with other sources including doctor recommendations.

Why are you producing this report?

• Senate Bill 132 (2005) requires the Health Data Committee (HDC) and its staff to publish reader-friendly reports comparing Utah’s health care facilities based on nationally-recognized measures for quality, charges and patient safety.

• The HDC and Utah Department of Health are committed to providing useful health care information for all people in Utah. Providers can use these reports to improve the quality of care they give to their patients.

• “Gallbladder Removal in Utah Health Care Facilities: Quality and Charges, 2006” is one of a series of health care consumer reports that enable patients and families to become more actively involved in their health care. All reports can be accessed at http://health.utah.gov/myhealthcare.

Why is this report important to me?

• Gallbladder removal is a common surgery in the United States and is performed primarily on an outpatient basis. About 150 Utahns have their gallbladder removed every week. If you or someone you know has gallbladder problems, you may find this report helpful when considering where to receive treatment.

• Health care facilities can vary, sometimes quite a bit, in terms of quality of care and patient charges. Consumers are encouraged to use the information in this report to ask questions of their doctor or health care professional, facility or insurance representative. Let them know you plan to take an active role in your health care decisions.

Who else helped shape this report?

• Utah citizens continually review our consumer reports to make sure they are understandable and easy to read. Since 2005, several focus groups have been held in both rural and urban locations. Public input helps us create user-friendly reports for people who are not medical experts yet need useful health care information.

• SB 132 Task Force is an HDC advisory group represented by consumers, hospitals, quality organizations and public health. Task force members have advised staff about methods and measures to use in the reports.

• Health care facilities reviewed their data and overall report content before public release. For more information, see the “About the Data” section in this report.

• Statistical experts assisted in selecting the appropriate method for comparing hospital performance.

• Leading physicians and health educators reviewed medical information in the report where applicable. In 2007, seven Utah physicians, as part of the Cholecystectomy Task Force, provided advice and direction on the measures used in this report.

What are consumers saying about these reports?

Feedback has been received from a variety of sources including our MyHealthCare website, consumer focus groups and newspaper articles. Below are some examples:

• “We have needed these reports for a long time”

• “Now we are more empowered and have tools to compare.”

• “This will help us to ask questions when we see our doctor.”

• “The consumer reports help people make better choices about their health care. People can use them as a basis for questions to ask their doctors.”

• “They [the reports] are not definitive—the end all in choosing one physician or hospital over another—but rather a valuable point of departure for people anticipating specific health care encounters.”

• “The more a person knows about the cost and quality of care, the more likely they are to receive the care they need and deserve.”