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This information is for reference purposes only. It was current when produced and may now be outdated. Archive material is no longer maintained, and some links may not work. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing this information should contact us at: https://info.ahrq.gov. Let us know the nature of the problem, the Web address of what you want, and your contact information.

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Public Reports on Provider Performance for Consumers

Public reports refer to any effort to compare providers within a specified geographic region—for which all providers are eligible to be included—on a routine basis according to certain standards of quality performance. Also called consumer reports, performance reports, provider profiles, quality assessment reports, score cards, citizen report cards, and league tables, public reports represent one of a number of approaches that might have a place in a country or community's overarching quality strategy. [Citation: Provider-specific Report Cards: A Tool for Health Sector Accountability in Developing Countries. Health Policy and Planning. P. McNamara. (March 2006).]

AHRQ Resources

Building the Science of Public Reporting

AHRQ, in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), supported exploratory and developmental studies to inform the content, design, dissemination, and underlying data and methodology of public reports. To facilitate rapid use of findings to improve public reports, a number of grantees partnered with public reporting organizations so that their research can provide direct feedback on how to create more effective reports for consumers.
Go to: https://archive.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/tools/public-reporting/building-science/index.html

Promoting Your Public Report: A Hands-on Guide

Toolkit designed to help communities increase awareness and use of their public reports by consumers and other audiences, includes suggested approaches and template materials.
Go to: http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/quality-resources/value/pubrpthandson/index.html

TalkingQuality

A comprehensive resource and guide for organizations that produce and disseminate reports to consumers on the quality of care provided by health care organizations (e.g., hospitals, health plans, medical groups, nursing homes) and individual physicians.
Go to: http://www.ahrq.gov//talkingquality/

AHRQ State Snapshots

State-specific health care quality information, including strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. The goal is to help State officials and their public- and private-sector partners better understand health care quality and disparities in their State.
Go to: https://nhqrnet.ahrq.gov/inhqrdr/

Provider-specific Report Cards: A Tool for Health Sector Accountability in Developing Countries

McNamara P. Health Policy Plan 2006;21(2):101-9.
Review discussing universal design options for report cards, evidence base, developing country examples, challenges, and implementation steps.
Go to: http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/2/101.full

Page last reviewed August 2023
Page originally created August 2012

Internet Citation: Public Reports on Provider Performance for Consumers. Content last reviewed August 2023. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
https://archive.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/tools/public-reporting/index.html

 

The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only.

 

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