Health care providers face scrutiny from various

governmental entities, including state and federal surveyors, that access and analyze publicly available data. The Internet provides easy access to quality of care and staffing data allowing a government investigator to perform a comparative analysis of a health care provider's performance without leaving the office. Individuals working for federal or state agencies, such as the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General or a state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, may form an initial impression about the provider's quality of care without ever interviewing staff or visiting the facility. This initial first impression may be

costly and difficult to change.

This article provides examples based on the data for nursing

facilities available on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare Web site, although the concepts are similar for other types of report cards maintained at both the federal and state level.

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