It is unclear whether public reporting of hospital data influences patients' decisions, according to a new study in today's Annals of Internal Medicine, Modern Healthcare reports.
The study, titled "Systematic Review: The Evidence That Publishing Patient Care Performance Data Improves Quality of Care," found that there is scant evidence to determine if public reporting of hospital data impacts patients' decisions.
A review of published articles about reporting systems found that there is an "inconsistent association" between public reporting results and patients' choice of hospitals or insurers, the authors wrote.
According to the study, there is limited peer-reviewed literature that studies the differences or effectiveness of recently created public reporting systems. In addition, consumers might find hospital report cards confusing rather than helpful, Modern Healthcare reports.
The authors concluded that additional research on how reporting systems are designed and their effectiveness is necessary to determine their influence on patients (DerGurahian, Modern Healthcare, 1/14).