[medinformatics] Consequences of Physician Report Cards

[Medical Informatics News]

Reporting quality information publicly can promote quality improvement. However, according to
an article in the current issue of the JAMA, the Journal of the
American Medical Association, the value of publicly reporting quality information is essentially undemonstrated and may
have unintended and negative consequences on health care. These unintended consequences include causing physicians to
avoid sick patients in an attempt to improve their quality ranking, encouraging physicians to achieve “target rates”
for health care interventions even when it may be inappropriate among some patients, and discounting patient
preferences and clinical judgment.


Full text article available
here.
Associated Press coverage of
the article available

here.

http://medicalinformatics.weblogsinc...4000163035178/