Healthcare must embrace transparency, not 'translucency'

Outcomes transparency is a hot topic among healthcare leaders, but many leaders see it as a marketing tool, which misses the point, according to a blog post from the Harvard Business Review. Rather, the principle behind transparency is to use complete, objective data to engage with patients and improve outcomes, writes Thomas H. Lee, M.D., chief medical officer at Press Ganey Associates. Too many providers, Lee writes, have instead embraced "translucency"--the selective release of data that keeps patients from getting the full picture and doesn't motivate clinician improvement. "When performance is on public view, everyone does their best work," Lee writes. "And when providers receive this constant feedback on their performance, they'll strive to get even better." Post