Understanding the new era in health care accountability: report cards

In this period of revolutionary change, it is important for all health care professionals to understand the dramatic shift that is taking place in assessing and evaluating the quality of health care services using report cards. The article provides a brief historical perspective of the report card and quality outcome measurement activities. Furthermore, it provides an example of the quality improvement process utilized in improving patient care services in nursing units in recent years. The process relies on establishing specific standards of performance and communicating the impact of the standards on patient satisfaction using report cards.