Ask the expert: What materials should be included with physician competency reports?

In addition to the report itself, the medical staff office should provide physicians with additional materials to help them understand the report. The goal of most reports is to be concise and easy to read. Therefore, it is best not to include more explanatory detail than necessary in the actual report. The following four types of support materials are helpful:

• A report cover letter, typically from the medical staff president or peer review committee chair or both. It should be brief and explain the medical staff's ownership of the report, the reason the report is being sent, and the philosophy behind the use of data.
• An explanation of the report format. This document should describe the purpose of each column on the report and explains how to interpret the colors and symbols on the report.
• A detailed glossary of terms and indicators
• Frequently asked questions

The above information was adapted from Measuring Physician Competency: How to Collect, Assess, and Provide Performance Data, Second Edition by Robert Marder, MD; Mark Smith, MD; Marla Smith, MHSA; and Vicki Searcy, CPMSM.