Maine has very specific regulations on measuring health care quality within the state.  The Maine Health Data Organization must collect quality of health care data, and publish summary reports based on the data.1  The Organization must compare health care services information, outcomes information, effectiveness, and quality of care by health care facility and provider.  Quality of health care service information by provider type must be a publicly accessible through the internet.2   Additionally, the Organization must collaborate with the Maine Quality Forum, which must adopt measures to evaluate and compare health care quality and provider performance.  The Forum must also collaborate with consumers, providers, and health plans to report comparative health care quality reports.3

In order to evaluate the quality of care provided, Maine law requires all hospitals to have a quality assurance plan in place to monitor services and implement improvements as needed.4  Furthermore, health insurers are required to establish standards to measure physician performance, and submit those standards to the Insurance Superintendant.5