The clinical side of health care report cards

Dr. Jack Tu and colleagues state that since many provinces are developing ways to measure various aspects of system, hospital and even individual performance, “report cards” are here to stay and clinicians should get used to working with them.

Given the interest shown by policy-makers, the media and the public, results gathered via these measurement devices are likely to be widely distributed. The authors suggest ways for physicians to survive the report card era. These include ensuring that good-quality data are collected by unbiased observers, monitoring and seeking to improve their own practice, ensuring that the process as well as outcomes are reported, and becoming involved by lending their clinical insight or statistical acumen to the development of appropriate report cards.

Problems for clinical judgement: 4. Surviving the report card era

— J.V. Tu et al

Dr. Jack Tu, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto.