Program Specific Reports: Friend or Foe? —The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipient Program Specific Reports

Abstract Both the OPTN and CMS evaluate transplant center performance status. Since 2000, publicly available SRTR generated program specific reports (PSRs) are used to identify, or flag, programs that may be performing below expectations. The intended use of PSRs is to focus attention on centers requiring greater scrutiny to aid in the efforts to identify those programs where transplant outcomes can be improved, ultimately optimizing national transplant outcomes. However, the consequences to a transplant program of being flagged, even when the program is not found to be underperforming upon further review, are significant. Therefore the ability of PSRs to accurately identify underperforming programs is of paramount importance. Additionally, unintended consequences of the PSRs have been identified. As a result PSRs themselves have come under greater scrutiny in recent years. Below is a review of our current understanding regarding PSR use and the impact it has had on organ transplantation in the USA.
Source: Current Transplantation Reports - Category: Transplant Surgery Source Type: research