Great expectations: Achieving the promise of public reporting of health service performance in Australia

Project Details

Details

This research project will identify promising strategies to improve the impact of Australian public performance reporting on quality of care in private and public hospitals. It will examine the effectiveness of strategies that are currently being used and recommendations for strategies to be developed in the future.

Summary

In the last decade, there has been an increasing trend towards public reporting of health service performance and the assessment of its impacts on quality of care. Overall, the evidence suggests that while there are some benefits associated with the introduction of public health service performance reporting there is considerable scope to further develop these interventions to better meet the needs of purchasers, providers and patients. There is also a need to consider unintended benefits and how they might be prevented in a systematic way. This research project aims to identify promising approaches to improving the ability of public performance reporting to improve health service quality.

Findings

This research project demonstrated limited evidence of impacts of public reporting of hospital performance, however support for its value in increasing confidence in the health system. Public performance reporting impacts were limited by lack of clear conceptualisation of objectives, audience, information and data quality. There was support to strengthened public performance reporting from clinicians, purchasers, health service managers and consumers.

Researchers

Prof  Margaret Kelaher

A/Prof Marie Bismark

Professor David Dunt

Dr Khic-Houy Prang

Dr Rachel Canaway

Hana Sabanovic

Funding

Medibank Better Health Foundation

Research Publications

Prang KH, Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Kelaher M. The impact of Australian healthcare reforms on emergency department time-based process outcomes: An interrupted time series study. PloS one. 2018 Dec 12;13(12):e0209043.

Kelaher M, Prang KH, Sabanovic H, Dunt D. The impact of public performance reporting on health plan selection and switching: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health policy. 2018 Oct 10.

Dunt D, Prang KH, Sabanovic H, Kelaher M. The impact of public performance reporting on market share, mortality, and patient mix outcomes associated with coronary artery bypass grafts and percutaneous coronary interventions (2000-2016): A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medical care. 2018;56(11):956-66.

Prang KH, Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Kelaher M. The use of public performance reporting by general practitioners: A study of perceptions and referral behaviours. BMC Family Practice. 2018;19(1):29.

Prang KH, Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Miller JA, Kelaher M. Public performance reporting and hospital choice: A cross-sectional study of patients undergoing cancer surgery in the Australian private healthcare sector. BMJ Open. 2018;8(4)

Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Prang KH, Kelaher M. "What is meant by public?": Stakeholder views on strengthening impacts of public reporting of hospital performance data. Social Science & Medicine. 2018; 202:143-150

Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Kelaher M. Public reporting of hospital performance data: views of senior medical directors in Victoria, Australia. Australian Health Review. 2018;42(5):591-9.

Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Kelaher M. Perceived barriers to effective implementation of public reporting of hospital performance data in Australia: a qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research. 2017;17(1):391.

Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Kelaher M. Medical directors’ perspectives on strengthening hospital quality and safety. Journal of Health Organization and Management. 2017;31(7-8):696-712.

Canaway R, Bismark M, Dunt D, Kelaher M. Public reporting of clinician-level data. Medical Journal of Australia. 2017;207(6):231-232.

Research Group


School Research Themes

Disparities, disadvantage and effective health care



Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact the research group leader.

Department / Centre

Centre for Health Policy

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