Ratings Game: Lists of “Top” Physicians, Hospitals Has Unclear Impact on Public

KEYWORDS:
• CONSUMER REPORTS
• HEALTH CARE QUALITY, ACCESS, AND EVALUATION
• HOSPITALS
• INTERNET
• MARKETING OF HEALTH SERVICES
• MORTALITY
• OUTCOME ASSESSMENT (HEALTH CARE)
• PERIODICALS
• PHYSICIANS
• QUALITY INDICATORS, HEALTH CARE
• QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE
• REFERRAL AND CONSULTATION

Hospital administrators, physicians, and researchers may argue over the validity of quality ratings and rankings, but the fact remains that these reports are readily available to the public. How these measures affect the relationships among clinicians remains an open question.

Individuals can see ratings through a variety of sources, including Thomson Reuters' “100 Top Hospitals” report as well as on such Web sites as US News & World Report's “America's Best Hospitals,” Consumer Reports Health, HealthGrades, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' “Hospital Compare,” and the Leapfrog Group's online hospital ratings tool. Also, some hospitals and physicians are rated locally through community media sources.

David Dranove, PhD, professor of health industry management at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Ill, said the cynical reason such public reporting has proliferated is to sell magazines or advertising space. But he also offered a more serious explanation …