HCFA release of hospital specific death rates: where are we and where are we going?

This article reviews the public release of hospital-specific death rates by the Health Care Financing Administration in 1986 and 1987 and makes projections for the future of such releases. Among the topics covered are the reasons for such public releases, the significant problems associated with the release in 1986, modifications which reduced such problems in 1987, strategies employed by hospitals to anticipate and/or respond to public release, future projections regarding public release,and implications for medical record professionals.