California HealthCare Foundation – Supporting ideas and innovations to improve health care for all Californians.

Media Contact

Alexandra Matisoff-Li
Senior Communications Officer
Publishing & Communications
510.587.3154

Public Reporting & Transparency

Health care providers do a better job when the quality of their work can be measured and rewarded. Although this is a frequent topic of discussion, there is little consensus on how best to accomplish it. CHCF promotes responsible performance reporting, both as an incentive for quality improvement and as a way to track its progress. That commitment has led to the development of such websites as CalHospitalCompare.org, which rates quality of care, patient experience, and safety measures for more than 240 California hospitals; and CalQualityCare.org, which rates long term care providers throughout the state and helps consumers choose among options such as nursing homes, home health care agencies, and assisted living facilities.

Listed below are publications and projects that CHCF's Market & Policy Monitor Program has contributed in the area of public reporting and transparency.

1 2 Next

In California, Quality Reporting at the State Level Is at a Crossroads After Hospital Group Pulls Out

March 2012

A Health Affairs article discusses the origins of California's hospital quality reporting initiative, challenges, and insights for the future of state-level initiatives.
California Maternal Data Center

February 2012

CHCF supports this effort to collect data, analyze it, and report on the quality of maternity care delivered throughout the state to improve care and inform treatment decisionmaking.

CalQualityCare.org: Your Guide to Long Term Care in California

December 2011

This free website offers unbiased quality ratings of California's long term care providers — information to help consumers make better choices and to encourage providers to improve quality — plus helpful tools and resources.

Consumers' Priorities for Hospital Quality Improvement and Implications for Public Reporting

April 2011

In hospital quality, what do consumers want? This report reviews their perceptions of clinical effectiveness, patient safety, and efficiency and whether consumers have a role in driving improvement.

The Collection and Release Practices of Physician Identifiers in Statewide Hospital Discharge Data Reporting Systems

October 2010

California is one of the few states that do not yet collect physician identifiers on hospital discharge data. This white paper examines what other states are doing with respect to the collection of physician identifiers and the challenges involved.

Evidence That Consumers Are Skeptical about Evidence-Based Health Care

June 2010

This Health Affairs article by Carman et al. finds consumers hold crucial misconceptions about evidence-based health care and most believe that more care means better care.

From Here to Maternity: Birth of an Online Marketing Campaign

October 2009

An online ad campaign aimed at helping pregnant women choose a maternity provider dramatically boosted visits to CalHospitalCompare.org. This issue brief describes the campaign strategy, results, and lessons learned.

California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART)

May 2009

The California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART) brings together hospitals, insurers, consumer advocates, researchers, and others to produce a statewide report card on hospital performance and quality.

CHCF Health Care Transparency Expert Testifies Before the California Assembly Committee on Health

March 2009

Maribeth Shannon, director of CHCF's Market and Policy Monitor program, provided expert testimony before the committee as part of a February 17, 2009, informational hearing on transparent reporting of quality data and outcomes.

California Physician Performance Initiative: A Progress Report

December 2008

This multi-stakeholder initiative examined 15 evidence-based quality measures, investigating how California physicians stack up against benchmarks and whether care provided to Medicare beneficiaries varies versus other payers.

1 2 Next