This review was comissioned by the Secretary of State for Health to
examine whether ratings of provider performance should be used in health
and social care. This report is the final output of the review process.
It concludes that the costs and benefits in implementing a ratings
system may be favourable for providers of social care and for general
practices (given the potential for choice and the nature of care
provided in those settings). The benefits are less certain for
hospitals, given the way that ratings were designed and used in the
past. It lists a number of conditions that would have to be fulfilled
for any potential benefits of hospital ratings to be fully realised.
