Hospital Performance Reports: Impact On Quality, Market Share, And Reputation

TLDR

Earlier studies suggested that hospitals believed public performance reports would influence their public image. The study evaluates the long‑term effects of publicly released hospital performance reports on consumers and hospitals, examining how different assumptions about quality‑improvement drivers shape outcomes. Publicly released performance data improved the reported clinical area and positively influenced hospital reputations according to consumer surveys.

Abstract

This study builds on earlier work by assessing the long-term impact of a public hospital performance report on both consumers and hospitals. In doing so, we shed light on the relative importance of alternative assumptions about what stimulates quality improvements. The findings indicate that making performance data public results in improvements in the clinical area reported upon. An earlier investigation indicated that hospitals included in the public report believed that the report would affect their public image. Indeed, consumer surveys suggest that inclusion did affect hospitals’ reputations.