Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission has said that information comparable with the NHS should be available and published on the performance of all independent healthcare providers, whether serving NHS patients or not.
She continued: “The Department of Health, in setting up independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs), required a great deal of information from them. However, there were significant problems with the information provided. Much of it was at a general not patient level. It was not comparable with the NHS, neither was it designed for publication.
“Our experience was not that the independent sector was unwilling to provide information but that that information needed to be comparable and published on behalf of patients. The Healthcare Commission’s work shows that in many areas the quality of healthcare is good and similar but this information is anecdotal rather than systematic and regular.
“As the diversity of providers increases, the need for comparison is more pressing. In this information age, patients need to have the information on which they can judge the comparative quality of healthcare services, both public and private. This information is also needed to ensure effective purchasing of services for patients. We should therefore move towards collecting and publishing an agreed set of comparative information.
This information should look at outcomes where possible, as well as other indicators.”
