Consumer reports in health care: do they make a difference?

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Consumer Behavior
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Publicly available health care quality data, often in report card formats, aim to inform consumers, enhance care quality, and boost market competition.
• The effectiveness of these consumer health report cards has been a subject of ongoing research and policy debate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and evaluate the existing evidence on the impact of consumer health report cards.
• To assess the influence of report cards on the decision-making behaviors of consumers, healthcare providers, and purchasers.
• To determine if report cards contribute to improvements in healthcare quality and market competition.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Medline and Healthstar databases.
• Studies published in peer-review journals since 1995 focusing on consumer health report cards were selected.
• The review synthesized findings from identified studies to assess the impact of report cards.

Main Results:

• Current evidence suggests that consumer health report cards have not significantly influenced consumer decision-making, healthcare quality improvement, or market competition.
• Consumers may prefer provider-specific information, particularly data on error rates and adverse outcomes.
• Purchasers appear better positioned to utilize health plan quality data for selecting plans and influencing consumer choice through pricing strategies.

Conclusions:

• The current approach to consumer health report cards may require re-evaluation due to limited demonstrated impact.
• Future report card designs should consider incorporating provider-specific metrics and data on adverse events to better meet consumer needs.
• Purchasers can play a key role in leveraging quality data to guide consumers toward higher-quality healthcare options.