In Search of a Consumer-Friendly Report Card on Physician Performance
<p>Publicly available "report cards" on physicians and hospitals have proliferated in recent years. While consumers seem to value them, the report cards can be difficult to understand and use, and to date they seem to have had little influence on people’s health care provider choices. </p><p>In the March issue of <em>Health Affairs</em>, Harvard University researchers synthesize the views of experts and stakeholders on what needs to be done to make <a href="/publications/journal-article/2012/mar/how-report-cards-physicians-physician-groups-and-hospitals">physician report cards more useful</a> and the challenges that must be overcome to improve them. The study found broad consensus among experts that report cards should offer a greater number of consumer-oriented measures, be more clear and accessible, and contain a wider range of data, including information on cost. Stakeholders, meanwhile, felt that consumers should be able to tailor report cards based on information entered by the patient, like age, medical condition, or geographic location. </p>
<p>Read more on <a href="/newsletter/ealert/search-consumer-friendly-report-card-physician-performance">commonwealthfund.org</a>. </p>