Public health reporting: the United States perspective.

The release of 2 landmark reports by the Institute of Medicine titled, "To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System" and "Crossing the Quality Chasm" were instrumental in the identification of safety and quality issues. Since their release, federal and state programs of public reporting of performance measures have attempted to close the quality gap of care that is inappropriate, not timely, or lacking an evidence base. Cardiac surgery has long been the focus of public scrutiny, and now, as we move from an era of managed care to public reporting, reimbursement for cardiac surgery procedures will be tied to performance. However, the question is whether public reporting and pay for performance will ultimately improve the quality of patient care, safety, and provide the consumer with enough information to make surgeon and institutional choices. Will the cost and focus of achieving perfection with performance standards overshadow any real improvement in clinical outcomes?