Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients program-specific reports: where we have been and where we are going.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Reporting provider data on quality to patients and the general public is increasingly common in healthcare. Reporting outcomes in solid organ transplantation has always been controversial and deserves careful consideration to ensure optimal results.

RECENT FINDINGS: As mandated by Federal law, the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients publishes program-specific reports on transplant candidates, recipients, donors, and transplant outcomes every 6 months. Recent changes designed to make the results more easily understood by patients and the general public have been well received by patients and controversial among providers. In particular, outcomes are now reported using a five-tier system that distinguishes program results better than the old three-tier system, in which almost all programs were reported "as expected." Metrics that reflect access to transplant are also reported, including transplant rate and survival on the waiting list. Possible measures of longer term outcomes and program rates of accepting organs for transplant are being explored.

SUMMARY: Providing detailed information regarding transplant program practices and outcomes in ways that patients and the general public can understand remains a major focus of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Efforts to improve data collection and metrics reported are ongoing.