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PROFESSIONAL ISSUESPublication of mortality data affects angioplasty ratesA study highlights the active influence of physician report cards.By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. Jan. 31, 2005. Public reporting of physician mortality outcomes in New York has an effect on medical decision-making, according to a report published in the Jan. 10 Archives of Internal Medicine. Almost 80% of interventional cardiologists responding to a survey agreed that publication of mortality statistics has influenced their decision to perform angioplasties on high-risk patients. The researchers noted that this provides evidence that "physician scorecards are not passive devices simply monitoring quality" but have an active influence on clinical decision-making. Physicians have long wondered what effect the state's scorecards may have on medical decision-making, said the report's lead author, Craig R. Narins, MD, an assistant professor of medicine/cardiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York. "I was surprised to see how widespread it was," Dr. Narins said. "The scorecards provide useful information, but our study shows that they have unintended consequences." The New York State Dept. of Health has been collecting mortality data since 1994, and Dr. Narins and his colleagues received completed surveys from 120 (65%) of the 186 interventional cardiologists included in the state's report on angioplasty outcomes between 1998 and 2000. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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