Public Reporting and Transparency

Interest in collecting and publicly reporting information about the cost and quality of health care has been growing. Yet questions remain about the accuracy of reported price, process, and outcome information; the comparability of results across different populations; and whether and how patients and others use the information to make decisions. Advocates for public reporting argue that it will inject competition into the health system. In addition, it could help providers improve by benchmarking their performance against others, encourage private insurers and public programs to reward quality and efficiency, and help patients make informed choices. Studies of current public reporting efforts have found that public reporting can add value, but that reports must be carefully designed. Research also shows the importance of automated and unobtrusive data collection, as well as collaboration among private and public bodies, and providers and purchasers. Support for this research was provided by The Commonwealth Fund. The views presented here are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Commonwealth Fund or its directors, officers, or staff, or of The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System or its members. This and other Fund publications are available online at www.cmwf.org. To learn more about new publications when they become available, visit the Fund’s Web site and register to receive e-mail alerts. Commonwealth Fund pub. no. 988.