Review
"A+. . . . the editor has a knack for bringing together the right mix of authors to give health care providers a commonsense guide to developing and using report cards." (Sandy Metzler)
"Provider Report Cards addresses what consumers want to know about providers, and how they use that information to make purchasing choices. . . . this book is full of practical advice about how to collect, package, and present performance data to the public." (Rosemarie Olive)
"Provider Report Cards brings the consumer's perspective to the foreground as health care administrators develop methods to report key outcomes and measures. It is an important resource regarding the critical elements to be considered when preparing to disseminate outcomes information to the public." (Lynne Nemeth)
"A very timely book for those of us charged with the responsibility to help patients and consumers begin to understand the complexities of outcomes data, their utility, and their limitations." (Steven C. Winokur)
"This book is an excellent resource for anyone involved in developing consumer-oriented health care report cards. It provides answers to important questions such as: What do consumers want to know about their health care providers? What strategies are effective for collecting performance measurement data? What issues should be considered when reporting this information to the public?" (Marilyn Oermann)
From the Inside Flap
Report cards are the result of market pressure for greater accountability in managed care. The intent behind them is to help consumers make wiser purchasing decisions. Report card initiatives originated with health plans, but it is fast becoming apparent that consumers believe quality measurement should extend to health providers—hospitals, home care agencies, long term care facilities, and doctors. This book prepares providers to meet the challenges of public-oriented report cards. Readers will learn what the public wants to know about the quality of their providers, how to display performance data in a manner that can be easily understood by the public, techniques for improving dissemination of performance information, strategies for minimizing product liability concerns, and methods for gathering performance data in various provider sites.
