Generating Health Care Quality Scores That Show Differences
The critical link between collecting performance information and sharing that information with others is the process of generating scores. The nature of the score is often inherent in the measure (e.g., an overall rating on a 1-10 scale). But even in such simple cases, you still have to decide exactly what information you will present to consumers.
While this decision is largely technical, it can be quite controversial politically. Often, the easiest scores for the public to understand and use are unappealing to the providers being measured because they make it easier to see differences in performance. Sponsors need to make decisions on these issues carefully, allowing enough lead time for any disagreements to be aired and resolved.
This section discusses the following topics:
- Scoring Different Kinds of Measures
- Making Adjustments to Scores
- Combining Measures Into Composites or Summary Scores
- Framing Scores as Positive or Negative
A related issue is how to compare scores and set thresholds when placing different plans or providers into different categories. Learn more about these topics in Choosing a Point of Comparison.
