Compare Hospitals
Making decisions about hospital care is never easy. All hospitals are committed to providing quality care, but quality can vary between hospitals. Medicare has developed a Web site, Hospital Compare, that will allow you to compare the quality of certain hospital services. The information relates to three conditions that are common in Medicare beneficiaries: heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia. The site, which can be accessed by visiting http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, will be updated periodically, and information about other conditions will be added later.
Hospital Compare is the result of a partnership that involves the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (the agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that runs Medicare), hospitals, hospital associations, national accreditors, and consumer groups. The intent is to make information about hospital performance available to the public to assist consumers in making informed choices and help them when talking to their doctors about the care they are getting.
Hospital Compare is not a "Top 100 Hospitals" score card. Instead, it is a tool that can be used as the beginning of a conversation with your health care provider about the quality of care certain hospitals provide, what the hospitals are doing to improve, and what that means for your care. Getting quality hospital care means you are more likely to recover more quickly and avoid other medical problems.
Aside from reviewing comparative quality data, there are other steps you can take to ensure that you receive quality hospital care:
- Talk to your doctor or other health care provider about hospital quality. Some hospitals have more experience or better results treating certain conditions or performing certain procedures. Ask your doctor or health care provider which hospital has the best care and results for your condition. Ask why he or she uses that hospital.
- Talk to your doctor or health care provider about other patients' experiences with the hospital. If your doctor shows a strong preference for a certain hospital, ask why.
- Look at the hospital information on the Medicare.gov Web site and others and talk to your doctor about any questions or concerns you have.
- Ask family or friends about their hospital experiences.
- Sometimes your hospital choices are limited by your location, insurance or medical needs. But if you have a choice, get as much information as you can to make it your best choice.
In addition to the Hospital Compare Web site, CMS provides a helpline at 1-800-MEDICARE to answer consumer questions.
Related Resources
- New York State Hospital Profiles
- Learn more about Hospital Compare
- A Guide to Using Hospital Compare - English | Spanish
- Q and As About the Hospital Compare Measures
- Glossary of Terms - English | Spanish
- Hospital Checklist
For more information about IPRO's role in the Hospital Quality Alliance, visit http://providers.ipro.org/index/hprp
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