Hospital ‘Report Cards’ to Be Made Public for First Time

Once-secret report cards issued to 11,000 U.S. hospitals, nursing homes and other health providers will gradually be made public, starting this week.

Previously, the detailed performance reports prepared every three years by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations remained confidential. The agency would say only whether an institution was accredited.

Thursday, for the first time, the commission will release its latest surveys of about 700 hospitals, 450 home care programs and 160 nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, officials said.

The commission’s dramatic change of policy comes at a time when employers, insurers and consumers--along with the Clinton Administration--are calling for greater public disclosure about the strengths and weaknesses of health care providers.

“This is much more information than we’ve ever given the public,” commission spokeswoman Alice Brown said. “It will help people decide if they want to go to a certain health care organization for care.”

But officials acknowledged a certain uneasiness within the medical community. “I don’t know if anyone ever likes getting a report card,” Brown said.

Each survey released will provide an “overall evaluation score” for each hospital and health provider.

About 80% of America’s hospitals and health care facilities are accredited by the commission. Copies of reports of providers that have been evaluated can be obtained from the commission by calling (708) 916-5800 starting next month. The cost is $30.