90% of States Get Failing Grade for Making Available Consumer Information on Physician Quality

To shed light on the lack of availability of information for consumers on the quality of their doctors, a new scorecard finds the vast majority of states get a failing grade – D or F. Developed by the non-profit Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute (HCI3), the Transparency of Physician Quality Information report found that only two states received an A – Minnesota and Washington, and California got a C.

“We’re 15 years out from the Institute of Medicine’s trailblazing report calling for the transformation of a ‘fundamentally flawed’ health care system, and for the most part we still have no idea of the quality of care delivered by the majority of physicians in the U.S.,” said Francois de Brantes, HCI3 executive director. “That’s not just shameful, but it unnecessarily puts patients at risk. By highlighting states that are making a conscious effort to provide data to consumers, we hope to encourage others to embark on similar efforts.”

HCI3 graded the states around scoring criteria including the percentage of physicians and supporting health care professionals with publicly available quality information; the type of measurement provided (i.e. outcomes, process, patient experience); and the accessibility of the information.

This state by state scorecard highlights the extent to which there are still huge gaps in data and complements the State Scorecard on Price Transparency co-published by HCI3 and Catalyst for Payment Reform earlier this year showing the vast majority of states in the U.S. also get a failing grade in health care price transparency.

Read more here and view the full report online.