QMHC interview: Alan C. Brewster, M.D.. Interview by Marie E. Sinioris.
Information systems for severity-of-illness measurement and case mix adjustment are at the cutting edge of health care quality technology. The rapid rise of these systems in the past decade has paralleled hospital needs for better data on clinical processes and the burgeoning need among health care customers for better data on clinical outcomes and the relative performance of providers. The dual nature of the demand is fueling what promises to be a decade of growth for the developers of severity systems. To get a better handle on the status of these software-based tools, QMHC interviewed Alan C. Brewster, M.D., Vice Chairman and cofounder of MediQual Systems, Inc., and a principal developer of the widely used MedisGroups system.