Hospital Compare: A Web-based Tool for Adults Who Need Hospital Care
In April 2005, Hospital Compare Hospital Compare www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov was launched as a collaborative effort by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Hospitals Quality Alliance, and 4,200 hospitals nationwide. The Web site was designed to aid the decision-making process of consumers who are in need of hospital services, and to encourage hospitals to continue to improve their quality of care. It is not to be used in ranking hospitals. Content includes:
- Hospital Information - address, telephone number, and other contact information for all Medicare-certified hospitals in the U.S.
- Quality Measures - compares hospital performance using the state and national average rates of reported cases for each of the nationally recognized quality measures. This section is useful for consumers for comparing how often hospitals provide the recommended care for certain medical conditions (e.g. heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia), since receiving the recommended care often leads to better recovery or outcomes. Consumers can compare treatment of these specific conditions in hospitals in their local area or statewide.
- Patient Tools include: Hospital Checklist - a list of questions that can be used along with the quality measures to help in choosing a hospital; and Patients’ Rights - a list of the rights of patients during a hospital stay.
- Helpful Contacts provides links to information for specific organizations, or a topic search for Medicare-related questions. Related Web Sites provides links to other sites, such as those for state specific information
Be aware that if data on a particular hospital cannot be found, the hospital may be part of a multi-hospital system that reported information as a single organization, or the hospital did not participate. Information found on this site is submitted voluntarily by hospitals participating in a national project, Hospital Quality Alliance: Improving Care Through Information.
--Michelle Burda
