The Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) plans to publish data about the performance of the Australian healthcare system. It is probably inevitable that this kind of information, which is actively disseminated and reported in such a way as to encourage readers to draw comparisons, will be used in the near future by the media, the public and politicians to make public judgements about the relative performance of individual hospitals or even individual doctors or groups of doctors. Initiatives such as these will therefore be perceived as a threat by some health professionals and some organisations. Would this negative response be justified? What might be gained from public disclosure and how can the policy be implemented successfully?

We believe that a negative response to public disclosure in Australia would be counterproductive. Greater openness in healthcare is inevitable. Information is freely available about most areas of modern life and many believe that healthcare is one of the last bastions of protectionism. When millions of dollars are spent on healthcare, those who pay have a right to know that the money is being spent effectively, and the publication of comparative data sends a strong message about the willingness of health professionals and organisations to be accountable.

In addition, public disclosure appears to be an effective way of improving quality.1 There is a growing body of evidence that the current level of quality of care is unacceptable2,3 and that quality-improvement initiatives using confidential data have been largely ineffective at changing the behaviour of health professionals.4 When comparative data are released to the public, it appears to remind providers of the issues and refocuses them towards taking action.5

Arguments in support of the status quo — that the data are inadequate, the public won't understand them and the media will misuse them — are not sustainable if public disclosure is introduced properly. There are lessons that can be learnt from other countries to guide the process of disclosure in Australia. The United States has nearly 15 years' experience of publishing data in the form of "report cards", or "provider profiles". The initiative was launched by the federal government and the momentum has been maintained by a variety of public, private, commercial and not-for-profit organisations. Consumers and purchasers of healthcare were expected to play a key role by selecting high-performing providers, but recent evidence suggests that the providers themselves make greater use of the data than the service users.6

There are some notable examples of improvements in both the processes and outcomes of care associated with the publication of performance data.1 Public reporting in Europe is less well established than in the United States, but hospital "league tables" have been published in the Netherlands for several years, and the UK government plans to introduce incentives linked to a range of publicly reported performance criteria.7

What can we learn from the initiatives that have already been introduced?

• First, a backlash from some doctors, professional groups and institutions (particularly those seen to be performing badly) is predictable. Some criticisms were justified in the early days of report cards but lessons are being learnt. For example, we know that forcing new initiatives on reluctant professionals is not the most effective way of changing attitudes, and the introduction of report cards is more likely to be successful if doctors are encouraged to take a lead, particularly in selecting the performance measures. Bringing the media on board at an early stage to ensure fair and balanced coverage also helps. In addition, delaying publication for a short period to allow providers time to look at and act upon the data is a useful strategy.

• Second, it is important that those who publish the data show a commitment to investing in the process and progressively improving the quality of the data and the validity of comparisons arising from the data. However, it makes little sense to "wait for better data" — data will always be imperfect and, as one commentator stated, it is important not to let "perfect be the enemy of good".8 Experience suggests that the process of publication can in itself act as a catalyst for data improvement.

• Third, the utility of comparative data comes less from making absolute judgements about performance than from the discussion arising from using the data to benchmark performance. There is therefore a strong educational component to the effective use of comparative data, and resources are required to facilitate this process.6

• Finally, it is important to be cognisant of the risks of publishing comparative data.9 The danger of institutions refusing to treat certain disadvantaged groups in order to improve their apparent performance is well recognised, although probably overstated,10 and can be reduced by careful adjustment of risk and casemix. A tendency to focus on what is being measured at the expense of other areas of practice can be minimised by publishing a wide range of quality indicators. The risk of "short-termism" — an inappropriate focus on annual reporting cycles — can be reduced by ensuring a balance between short-term targets and long-term strategic aims.

A greater degree of public reporting of information about healthcare quality is an inevitable and desirable way forward. Practitioners and policymakers in Australia have an opportunity to ensure that the policy is implemented in a manner that is most likely to produce positive change.