Consumer Reports starts rating primary care practices

Primary care physician practices in Massachusetts are the first to be rated by Consumer Reports in an effort the magazine plans to expand to other states.

Massachusetts subscribers received a 24-page insert in their July issue bearing the headline “How Does Your Doctor Compare?” The report on 329 physician group practices for adults and 158 pediatric practices represents a two-year partnership between Consumer Reports and Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, an organization that focuses on spurring quality of care improvements.

The report was developed with the help of a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as part of its Aligning Forces for Quality Initiative. The initiative is funding similar projects in at least two other states. A special report on clinical quality data on Minnesota physician practices is expected to be published in late summer, and a report on prevention activities by Wisconsin physician practices will come out in early 2013.