Healthcare Quality Ratings: Tuned In? Tuned out.

Have you noticed any quality ratings for healthcare organizations? More ratings are available than ever before, but fewer Americans recall seeing them or using them.

Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of Americans who reported that they saw comparative health quality information for health insurance plans, hospitals or doctors dropped by 6 percent. (From 36 to 30 percent) The percentage of Americans who said they saw and used that same information fell from 20 to 14 percent.*

This downward trend has huge implications.

As the government continues to gather and publish healthcare data in hopes of increasing efficiency and reducing costs, fewer citizens are interested.

As health insurers increasingly generate information to empower consumer-driven healthcare, fewer patients are taking action.

As hospitals and health systems seek to differentiate themselves based on comparative quality reports, fewer consumers are noticing.

Why? 

- too many data sources with too little standardization

- needless complexity with lack of simple interpretation

- oversimplification that betrays the underlying data

- exploitation and overexposure of ratings in marketing

The two-year downtrend demonstrates that merely providing additional data isn't enough. We need data that is simple, consistent and relevant. Otherwise, consumers will continue to tune out. 

* Keiser Family Foundation's 2008 Update on Consumers' Views of Patient Safety and Quality Information