The public presentation of quality and safety data is essential to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) commitment to transparency. By making data available VA hopes to engage veterans and families in care, promote informed choice, and stimulate performance improvement activities.

The objectives of this project are: 1) to update a recent systematic review of the evidence that making performance data publically available leads to improvements in quality of care and safety; and 2) to summarize current research about patients' and families' use of performance data and how the presentation and distribution of these data could be designed to maximize their use by veterans and family members.

Contents

• PREFACE
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  • BACKGROUND
  • METHODS
  • DATA SYNTHESIS
  • PEER REVIEW
  • RESULTS
• INTRODUCTION
  • BACKGROUND
• METHODS
  • TOPIC DEVELOPMENT
  • SEARCH STRATEGY
  • STUDY SELECTION
  • DATA ABSTRACTION
  • QUALITY ASSESSMENT
  • DATA SYNTHESIS
  • PEER REVIEW
• RESULTS
  • LITERATURE FLOW
  • KEY QUESTIONS #1 AND #2 What is known about the most effective way of displaying quality and safety information, comparative data about health system structure, services, and performance so that it is understandable? How do patients prefer to receive or access this information?
  • KEY QUESTION #3 What is the evidence that patients or their families use publicly reported quality and safety information to make informed health care decisions?
  • KEY QUESTION #4 What is the evidence that public reporting of quality and safety information leads to improved quality or safety?
• SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
  • SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE BY KEY QUESTION
  • LIMITATIONS
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX A SEARCH STRATEGIES
• APPENDIX B STUDY SELECTION FORM
• APPENDIX C EVIDENCE TABLES FOR KEY QUESTIONS #1 AND #2
• APPENDIX D EVIDENCE TABLES FOR KEY QUESTION #3
• APPENDIX E EVIDENCE TABLES FOR KEY QUESTION #4
• APPENDIX F CRITERIA USED IN QUALITY ASSESSMENT
• APPENDIX G PEER REVIEW COMMENTS/AUTHOR RESPONSES

Prepared for: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research & Development Service, Washington, DC 20420. Prepared by: Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) Center, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, Paul G. Shekelle, M.D., Ph.D., Director

Suggested citation:

Totten AM, Miake-Lye IM, Vaiana ME, Beroes JM, Shekelle PG. Public Presentation of Health System or Facility Data about Quality and Safety: A Systematic Review. VA-ESP Project #05-226; 2011

This report is based on research conducted by the Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) Center located at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Health Services Research and Development. The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author(s) who are responsible for its contents; the findings and conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. Therefore, no statement in this article should be construed as an official position of the Department of Veterans Affairs. No investigators have any affiliations or financial involvement (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties) that conflict with material presented in the report.