Appendix E. Description of Public Reports From the Included Studies

This appendix includes descriptive information about public reports on health care quality that are the subject of two or more included studies in this systematic review in order to avoid repeating these descriptions in the text and evidence tables. This is not an exhaustive list of all available public reports.

Table E1. Descriptive information about public reports from the included studies

Name / Producer / Dates / Description / Source
(Start and End) / Format / Content / Distribution
Nursing Home Compare / CMS / 11/2002 to Present / Stars:
Much Above Avg. *****
Above Avg.****
Average***
Below Avg.**
Much Below Avg. * / Report on quality measures for nursing homes:
  • Quality measures (19) come from the (Minimum Data Set) MDS Repository, included measures have changed over time
  • Separate measure for long-stay and post-acute care residents
  • Five of the quality measures are risk-adjusted at the resident level to reduce the heterogeneity in resident health conditions
  • Sortable results based on overall quality, health inspections, nursing home staffing, quality measures, program participation, number of certified beds, and type of ownership
/ Web site, no fee / Nursing Home Compare Website:

Table E1. Descriptive information about public reports from the included studies (continued)
Name / Producer / Dates / Description / Source
(Start and End) / Format / Content / Distribution
Home Health Compare / CMS / Fall 2003 to Present / Tables reporting percentages / Report on quality measures for home health agencies. Categories of process and outcome measures include:
  • Managing Daily Activities
  • Managing Pain and Treatment Symptoms
  • Treating Wounds and Preventing Pressure Sores
  • Preventing Harms
  • Preventing Unplanned Hospital Care
Comparisons with state and national data provided. Information comes from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) quality data submitted by home health agencies to state repositories. Comparisons with state and national data provided. / Web site, no fee / Home Health Care Compare Website:

Hospital Compare / CMS / April 2005 to Present / Graphs and tables / Yearly hospital report includes quality measures in the following categories:
  • Process of Care Measures
  • Outcome of Care Measures
  • Use of Medical Imaging
  • Surveys of Patients’ Hospital Experiences
  • Patient Safety Measures
  • Medicare Payment and Volume
Medical conditions included in the report:
  • Surgical
  • Health Attack
  • Pneumonia
  • Heart Failure
  • Children’s Asthma
  • Medical Imaging
/ Web site, no fee / Hospital Compare Web site:

HEDIS / NCQA / 1991 to Present / Star ratings in five technical domains / Health plan report card with 71 quality measures in five domains:
  • Effectiveness of Care
  • Access/Availability of Care
  • Experience of Care
  • Utilization and Relative Resource Use
  • Health plan descriptive information
/ Web site, no fee / NCQA Web site:
CAHPS Health Plan / AHRQ / 1998 to Present / Stars about performance and bar charts for trends / Health plan report card on the experiences of respondents (adults and/or guardians of children) in the following areas:
  • Getting needed care
  • Getting care quickly
  • How well doctors communicate
  • Health plan information and customer service
/ Printed and Web site, no fee / AHRQ Web site:
CAHPS Hospitals / AHRQ / 2005 to Present / Stars about performance and bar charts for trends / Hospital report card on the experiences of respondents in the following areas:
  • Nurse Communication
  • Doctor Communication
  • Explanation of Medicines
  • Timely help from hospital staff
  • Information about recovery
  • Pain Control
  • Cleanliness
  • Quiet at night
/ Printed and Web site, no fee / AHRQ Web site:
CAHPS Clinicians and Group Practices / AHRQ / 2005 to Present / Stars about performance and bar charts for trends / Clinicians and groups survey report on the experiences of respondents in the following areas:
  • Getting appointments and health care when needed
  • How well doctors communicate
  • Courteous and helpful office staff
/ Printed and Web site, no fee / AHRQ Web site:
New York CSRS / NYS DOH / 1989 to Present / Data and graphs / Report on hospitals and individual providers (cardiac surgeons). Reports in-hospital and 30-day expected, observed and risk-adjusted mortality rates for adults and children undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) and/or Coronary Artery Bypass Graff (CABG). / Printed and Web site, no fee / New York State Department of Health Web site:

Cardiac Surgery in Penn-sylvania / PHC4 / 1994 to Present / Data and graphs / Report onhospitals and surgeons.
Reports number of surgeries performed, in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates, readmission rates within 7-30 days, data on post-surgical lengths of stay and hospital charges. / Printed and Web site, no fee / PA Health Care Cost Containment Council Web site

California CABG Outcomes Reporting Program / OSHPD Health Care Outcomes Center / 1997 to Present / Data and graphs / Report on hospitals and surgeons. It reports the risk-adjusted operative mortality rates by regions. The hospitals are rated yearly and surgeons every other year. / Printed and Web site, no fee /
Wisconsin Quality Counts / Alliance, a large employer-purchasing cooperative in the Madison, Wisconsin, area. / 1999- present / Graphics used to indicate rating:
(+) Plus signs indicate that there were fewer mistakes, complications, and deaths than expected
(0) Circles mean that there
was an average number of mistakes, complications, and deaths
(-)Minus signs mean that there were more mistakes,
complications, and deaths than expected / Report in 2001 included two summary indices of adverse events (deaths and complications) occurring within the broad categories of surgery and nonsurgery, and indices in three individual clinical areas: hip/knee surgery, cardiac care, and maternity care. / The 2001 report was inserted into the Madison newspaper; and Alliance employers sent it to employees’
homes. It was also available on a Web site, and copies were distributed by community groups and at libraries.Not currently publicly available. / Currently available to subscribers only:
Cleveland Health Quality Choice Report Card / Cleveland Health Quality Choice Coalition / May 1993 to Dec 1998 / Public release available to all: Graphs/Tables indicated hospital performance as better than expected, as expected, or worse than expected.
Detailed release: available only to qualified users who attended 1/2 day training contained unadjusted data and the 95%CIs around the predicted values. / The semi-annual report included hospital in-patient data on patient satisfaction, intensive care unit mortality and length of stay, general hospital mortality and length of stay for selected diagnoses and/or procedures, and several indicators of obstetrical performance. / Printed / Example report provided at:
California Hospital Outcomes Project / Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development / 1993 to present / Graphs / Reports on risk adjusted outcomes for several diagnoses, including cardiovascular, infection and others at acute care hospitals. / Printed and Web site, no fee /
HCFA Mortality Report / HCFA / 1986 to 1992 / Data / Reports hospitals’ predicted and actual in-hospital mortality data for several diagnoses. Through time, they presented a somewhat different breakdown of the mortality rates by disease or procedure categories. / Printed / Mennemeyer, 1997. Website N/A.
Ontario Cardiac Reports / Cardiac Care Network of Ontario / 1999 to present / Data and graphs / Reports on cardiac procedure outcomes. / Printed and Web site, no fee /
PHC4 Hospital Effective-ness Report / PHC4 / 1989 to present / Data and graphs / Report of approximately 50 (depending on region) individual diagnosis related groups and hospital summary statistics, including mortality. / Printed and Web site, no fee /

E-1