Postscript: research agenda to guide the next generation of public reports for consumers

Abstract

There is significant interest in building the next generation of public reporting tools that will more effectively engage consumers and better enable them to make use of comparative performance information when selecting a provider. Demand for public reporting tools that make health care cost and quality information transparent is fueled by a variety of market forces underway. A host of public reporting efforts and studies have identified a number of challenges, highlighting that we still do not understand how best to design public reports to meet the needs of the consumer. We identify five areas for additional research that, if addressed, could foster better design and delivery of quality and cost information to consumers.

Keywords: consumer engagement in quality; health care decision making; public reporting; report cards; transparency.