Dataset Information

Is Anyone Paying Attention to Physician Report Cards? The Impact of Increased Availability on Consumers' Awareness and Use of Physician Quality Information.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine if the release of health care report cards focused on physician practice quality measures leads to changes in consumers' awareness and use of this information.

Primary data sources

Data from two rounds of a survey of the chronically ill adult population conducted in 14 regions across the United States, combined with longitudinal information from a public reporting tracking database. Both data were collected as part of the evaluation for Aligning Forces for Quality, a nationwide quality improvement initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Study design

Using a longitudinal design and an individual-level fixed effects modeling approach, we estimated the impact of community public reporting efforts, measured by the availability and applicability of physician quality reports, on consumers' awareness and use of physician quality information (PQI).

Principal findings

The baseline level of awareness was 12.6 percent in our study sample, drawn from the general population of chronically ill adults. Among those who were not aware of PQI at the baseline, when PQI became available in their communities for the first time, along with quality measures that are applicable to their specific chronic conditions, the likelihood of PQI awareness increased by 3.8 percentage points. For the same group, we also find similar increases in the uses of PQI linked to newly available physician report cards, although the magnitudes are smaller, between 2 and 3 percentage points.

Conclusions

Specific contents of physician report cards can be an important factor in consumers' awareness and use of PQI. Policies to improve awareness and use of PQI may consider how to customize quality report cards and target specific groups of consumers in dissemination.

SUBMITTER: Shi Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5517682 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Is Anyone Paying Attention to Physician Report Cards? The Impact of Increased Availability on Consumers' Awareness and Use of Physician Quality Information.

Shi Yunfeng Y Scanlon Dennis P DP Bhandari Neeraj N Christianson Jon B JB

Health services research 20160728 4

<h4>Objective</h4>To determine if the release of health care report cards focused on physician practice quality measures leads to changes in consumers' awareness and use of this information.<h4>Primary data sources</h4>Data from two rounds of a survey of the chronically ill adult population conducted in 14 regions across the United States, combined with longitudinal information from a public reporting tracking database. Both data were collected as part of the evaluation for Aligning Forces for Q ...[more]

PMID: 27468943

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Project description:Background:Everyday products can contain a multitude of harmful substances unnoticed by most consumers, because established risk communication channels reach only part of the society. The question is, whether at least interested and informed consumers are able to use risk communication tools and assess harmful chemicals in products. Results:An online survey investigated the awareness of 1030 consumers on harmful substances in everyday items. Participating consumers' education level, knowledge in chemistry, and motivation were above society's average. Although a large number of responses showed that survey participants were familiar with several aspects of the issue, the results revealed that knowledge in chemistry helped, but was not enough. Many participants assumed that products with an eco-label, natural personal care products, products without hazard pictograms or products produced in the European Union would not contain harmful substances. Most participants indicated to use hazard pictograms, information on the packaging, reports in the media, and environmental and consumer organizations as information sources, while information by authorities and manufacturers were not named frequently and did not receive high confidence. Smartphone applications were not indicated by many participants as information sources. The information sources most trusted were environmental and consumer organizations, hazard pictograms, and lists of ingredients on the containers. The declared confidence in certain risk communication instruments did not always correspond to the use frequencies indicated. Nearly all participants considered legislators as responsible for the reduction of harmful substances in consumer products. Conclusions:Misconceptions about harmful substances in products can be dangerous for the personal health and the environment. The survey indicates that motivation, educational level, and chemical expertise do not automatically provide an appropriate understanding of harmful substances in products. If well-informed consumers are not sufficiently capable to use risk information elements as revealed in this study, then this will be even more the case for the general public. Consumer awareness should be stipulated by an improved information strategy about chemical risks in consumer products with an extensive participation of the target groups and by more efforts by authorities and manufactures to build trust and to provide easily understandable information.

Dataset Information

Is Anyone Paying Attention to Physician Report Cards? The Impact of Increased Availability on Consumers' Awareness and Use of Physician Quality Information.

Objective

Primary data sources

Study design

Principal findings

Conclusions

Publications

Is Anyone Paying Attention to Physician Report Cards? The Impact of Increased Availability on Consumers' Awareness and Use of Physician Quality Information.

Similar Datasets

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