System and method for analyzing, collecting, and tracking quality data across a vast healthcare provider network

A method for gathering quality data for a plurality of healthcare providers over an extended computer network, the method comprising the steps of:

• placing an enhanced services server in electronic data communication with a plurality of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems via a network connection, the plurality of EHR systems being configured to capture patient data for a plurality of patients at the plurality of healthcare providers' sites during a plurality of encounters with each of the plurality of patients, and the enhanced services server being built on the same architecture as the plurality of EHR systems, said plurality of EHR systems being configured to capture and transmit the patient data in a common data format that specifies information to be collected and a format for the information to be collected, said enhanced services server being configured to transmit and receive the patient data in the common data format;
• retrieving electronic quality of care forms in the common data format from one or more form managers via the network connection, each of the electronic quality of care forms having a plurality of fields to be completed with patient data, and the one or more form managers being one or more organizations responsible for maintaining forms used by healthcare providers to qualify for at least one of certifications, accreditations, and monetary incentives;
• filling in the plurality of fields in each of the electronic quality of care forms using quality of care data in the common data format obtained from the patient data captured by the plurality of EHR systems, each of the electronic quality of care forms being completed for a single healthcare provider from among the plurality of healthcare providers and for a single patient from among the plurality of patients, and the quality of care data being filled in the plurality of fields being from a plurality of encounters with that single patient;
• and
• automatically transmitting each of the electronic quality of care forms to one or more form receivers via the network connection after its plurality of fields are filled in, the one or more form receivers being one or more organizations that process quality of care data to qualify healthcare providers for at least one of certifications, accreditations, and monetary incentives.

A system for gathering quality data for a plurality of healthcare providers over an extended computer network, the system comprising:

• an enhanced services server built on the same architecture as a plurality of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and that is in electronic data communication with the plurality of EHR systems via a network connection, the plurality of EHR systems being configured to capture patient data for a plurality of patients at the plurality of healthcare providers' sites during a plurality of encounters with each of the plurality of patients, said plurality of EHR systems being configured to capture and transmit the patient data in a common data format that specifies information to be collected and a format for the information to be collected, and the enhanced services server being configured to transmit and receive the patient data in the common data format and including:
• form retrieval functionality configured to retrieve electronic quality of care forms in the common data format from one or more form managers via the network connection, each of the electronic quality of care forms having a plurality of fields to be completed with quality of care data obtained from the patient data captured by the plurality of EHR systems, and the one or more form managers being one or more organizations responsible for maintaining forms used by healthcare providers to qualify for at least one of certifications, accreditations, and monetary incentives;
• and
• form filler functionality configured to fill in the plurality of fields in each of the electronic quality of care forms using the quality of care data in the common data format, each of the quality of care forms being completed for a single healthcare provider from among the plurality of healthcare providers and for a single patient from among the plurality of patients, and the patient data filled in the plurality of fields being from a plurality of encounters with that single patient,
• wherein each of the electronic quality of care forms is automatically transmitted to one or more form receivers via the network connection after its plurality of fields are filled in, the one or more form receivers being one or more organizations that process quality of care data to qualify healthcare providers for at least one of certifications, accreditations, and monetary incentives.