New From AHRQ: Evidence-Based Strategies for Developing Effective Physician Feedback Reports

Performance feedback reports help physicians assess the care they provide with the ultimate goal of improving quality, patient experience and best use of resources. However, their effectiveness depends on how they are designed and implemented, according to a new resource from AHRQ. Confidential Physician Feedback Reports: Designing for Optimal Impact on Performance offers evidence-based strategies for a wide variety of health care organizations, including hospitals, medical groups, health plans, professional societies, regional collaboratives, and dissemination and implementation campaigns. Whether used to refine or create a new physician feedback reporting system, this AHRQ resource will help organizations with four sets of interconnected design decisions: identifying a clinical focus to improve; ensuring the input data supports the report aims; optimizing the functional use of the reports; and delivering reports to promote impact.

Confidential Physician Feedback Reports: Designing for Optimal Impact on Performance | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality

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Confidential Physician Feedback Reports: Designing for Optimal Impact on Performance

Confidential feedback reporting is widely considered to be a precursor to and a foundation for performance improvement. However, to enable change, the physician responsible for and capable of change must receive, understand, and act on the information. This guide informs developers of feedback reports about evidence-based strategies to consider when developing or refining a feedback reporting system. This guide is appropriate for many audiences, including medical groups, health plans, payers, professional societies, regional quality improvement collaboratives, and dissemination and implementation campaigns.

Persons using assistive technology may not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, contact Doreen Bonnett at (301) 427-1899 or Doreen.Bonnett@AHRQ.hhs.gov. The accessible version will be available by April 2016.

Page last reviewed February 2016

Internet Citation: Confidential Physician Feedback Reports: Designing for Optimal Impact on Performance. February 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/clinicians-providers/resources/confidreportguide/index.html