WHY OPENNESS WITH HEALTH INSPECTORS PAYS

The effect of the quality of information obtained by Standards Monitoring Teams on the compliance of 410 Australian nursing homes with Commonwealth regulatory standards is explored. We find that information matters. Lack of openness is a hallmark of a poor quality facility, openness of a high quality facility. Secondly, open flow of information becomes a resource that does enable the regulatory process to improve the quality of care. From an industry perspective, therefore, openness pays because it 1. works against being marked off by an inspection team as a problem facility that is covering up; and 2. allows the facility to improve the quality of the service it delivers to the consumer.