Dying to Know: Public Release of Information about Quality of Health Care

Public disclosure of the comparative performance of health care providers is seen as one mechanism for improving quality of care and controlling health care costs. This report, the result of a collaboration between the Nuffield Trust in London and RAND, assesses the U.S. experience with publicly releasing health care performance data and offers guidelines for establishing public disclosure policy in the United Kingdom. Becausethe United States leads the world in reporting clinical information by hospital and by physician name, this report will be of interest to any country considering public release of performance data. Principal findings: Despite a rapidly expanding report card industry, U.S. physicians are skeptical about report cards, and consumers and purchasers rarely use them.Hospitals may respond to performance data with internal changes, especially in a competitive environment. Publishing comparative mortality data seems to improve outcomes, but the mechanism by which this happens is unclear. Key recommendations: Public disclosure should be viewed as an evolutionary process, becoming more sophisticatedand comprehensive over time. Disclosure should be a tool to support all quality initiatives in the U.K. National Health Service. Provider organizations should be a key audience for performance information. Health professionals should be fully involved in the publicdisclosure process. Both process and outcome measures of quality should be published. Public disclosure should be accompanied by possible explanations for the variations reported.

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Paperback, 131 Pages
Year:
2000
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Document Details

  • Availability: Available
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 131
  • List Price: $25.00
  • Price: $20.00
  • ISBN/EAN: 0-8330-2891-X
  • Document Number: MR-1255-NT
  • Year: 2000
  • Series: Monograph Reports

Contents

  • Foreword PDF

  • Acknowledgements

    Acknowledgments PDF

  • Summary

    Executive Summary PDF

  • Abbreviations PDF

  • Chapter One

    Introduction PDF

  • Chapter Two

    Methodology PDF

  • Chapter Three

    Public Disclosure in the Context of Health Care Systems PDF

  • Chapter Four

    The Purpose of Public Release of Performance Data PDF

  • Chapter Five

    Overview of Publicly Available Performance Data in the United States PDF

  • Chapter Six

    Evaluation of the Impact of Public Data PDF

  • Chapter Seven

    Discussion: Policy Issues for the United Kingdom PDF

  • Chapter Eight

    Recommendations PDF

  • References PDF

  • Chapter 1

    Frequency of Conditions/Procedures Studied in Report Cards PDF

  • Chapter 2

    Evidence Tables PDF

  • Chapter 3

    Conceptual Model of Public Disclosure PDF

  • Chapter 4

    Summary of Reporting Systems That Have Been Subject to Evaluation PDF

  • Chapter 5

    U.S. Diagnosis Related Group Frequency Data PDF

  • Chapter 6

    U.K. Common Causes of Hospital Bed Occupancy PDF

  • Chapter 7

    Illustrative Examples of Performance Indicators in the U.K. PDF

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