A Chief Medical Officer Calls for Publishing of Outcomes

Historically, the medical community has been reluctant to measure and publish physician performance data, making it difficult for consumers to compare one provider to another. In this age of sophisticated consumerism, the medical community may be feeling pressure to change, especially as healthcare institutions figure out how to compete with one another in a era of limited reimbursement growth. In an article about Leapfrog's efforts to establish minimum procedure volumes for certain procedures, the chief medical officer of Virginia Hospital Center, Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, argued for the disclosure of outcomes data so that patients can make informed choices. While such voices may be rare in the medical community, it is encouraging to see at least someone in such a position push for transparency.

One would expect that institutions that perform well to push for the disclosure of quality data. In the long run, one might imagine some institutions highlighting their risk-adjusted outcomes, while other institutions highlight their low prices.