According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, “adults receive the recommended medical treatment only 55 percent of the time.” 1 The risks of not getting the care you need are potentially very serious. Poor quality care can lead to higher complication and surgical repeat rates, unnecessary hospitalizations and a higher chance of a wrong diagnosis.

Your choices make a difference.

Studies show that people who actively engage in their health care decisions have fewer hospitalizations, fewer emergency visits, higher utilization of preventive care, and overall lower medical costs. You can take an active part in your health by seeking out and choosing quality care. UnitedHealth Premium can help.

UnitedHealth Premium helps you find quality care.

Most of us are pretty good at spotting quality in consumer products: Cars need good gas mileage. Houses need roofs that don’t leak. Clothing needs to be well-made. If a product doesn’t deliver the quality we expect, we can end up feeling frustrated and disappointed.

When it comes to health care, it may be less clear as to what quality means or how to go about finding it. To help you make informed choices about your health care, the UnitedHealth Premium program recognizes physicians and facilities for meeting quality and cost-efficiency guidelines. Those that meet the guidelines are given a star rating to make them easy to find on myuhc.com.

What is quality care?

The UnitedHealth Premium program uses criteria from national organizations that identify evidence-based standards for treating medical conditions across 21 specialties. Click here for a complete description of how we evaluate and measure quality.

1 Asch, Steven M. et al. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2006 March 16; 354: 1147–1156.

UnitedHealth Premium physicians:

  • May have lower surgery repeat rates
  • Follow evidence-based guidelines for care
  • Are more likely to be aware of the latest research and clinical trials

Quality guidelines are based on standards from organizations such as:

  • American College of Cardiology
  • Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance
  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)