The Hospital Compare website was created through the
efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), along with the Hospital
Quality Alliance (HQA). The HQA is a public-private collaboration established to
promote reporting on hospital quality of care. The HQA consists of organizations
that represent consumers, hospitals, doctors and nurses, employers, accrediting
organizations, and Federal agencies. The information on this website can be used
by any patients needing hospital care.
Hospital Compare displays rates for Process of Care
measures that show whether or not hospitals provide some of the care that is
recommended for patients being treated for a heart attack, heart failure,
pneumonia, asthma (children only) or patients having surgery. Hospitals
voluntarily submit data from medical records about the treatments their patients
receive for these conditions. The data include patients with Medicare, those
enrolled in Medicare health plans, and those who don’t have Medicare.
CMS reports information on children's asthma care.
Currently,
The Joint Commission- Opens in a new window
provides
this information to CMS.
The Veterans Health Administration (VA) is now providing information about the
quality of care given in
Acute Care - VA Medical Centers.- Opens in a new window
This website also displays information on Hospital Outcome of Care Measures. The
Hospital Outcome of Care Measures includes the
30-day
Risk Adjusted Death (Mortality) and Readmission Rates- Opens in a new window
for patients with Medicare who were admitted to the hospital for heart attack,
heart failure and pneumonia. The 30-day period is used because this is the time
period when deaths are most likely to be related to the care patients received
in the hospital.
CMS compiles this information from claims and enrollment data for patients in
Original (fee-for-service) Medicare. It does not include people in Medicare
Advantage plans or people who do not have Medicare.
Hospital Compare displays the Survey of Patients’ Hospital Experiences, using
data collected from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and
Systems (HCAHPS) Survey. The intent of the HCAHPS initiative is to provide a
standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring
patients' perspectives on hospital care.
This website also displays Medicare inpatient hospital payment information and
the number of Medicare patients treated (volume) for certain illnesses or
diagnoses
Medicare
Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRG)- Opens in a new window
Hospital Compare shows information for each hospital on selected MS-DRGs for the
current
data collection period.- Opens in a new window
This information helps you, your health care provider, family, and friends
compare the quality of care provided in the hospitals that agree to submit data
on the quality of certain services they provide for certain conditions. This
quality information not only helps you make good decisions about your health
care, but also encourages hospitals to improve the quality of health care they
provide.
Quality information is not available on this website for psychiatric,
rehabilitation or long-term care hospitals because they generally do not treat
patients for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia, or perform surgeries.
To learn about your rights when you are in the hospital read the American
Hospital Association's
Patient's
Bill of Rights
If you are a Medicare patient, the hospital should give you a copy of the
Important Message From Medicare notice. You can learn more about
your Medicare rights by reading the publication
Your Medicare Rights and Protections.
The Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA): Improving Care Through Information was
created in December 2002. Led by the American Hospital Association (AHA),
Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), and Association of American Medical
Colleges (AAMC), the HQA effort is intended to make it easier for the consumer
to make informed healthcare decisions, and to support efforts to improve quality
in U.S. hospitals. The major vehicle for achieving this goal is the
consumer-oriented Hospital Compare website.
The HQA collaborators and others support this initiative as the beginning of an
ongoing effort to make hospital performance information more accessible to the
public, payers, and providers of care. For a list of all the members
participating in the HQA,
Select
here for a list of all the members participating in the HQA
CMS and other organizations interested in hospital quality are working to improve
the quality of care given to all Americans in our nation's hospitals. These
organizations include:
Many organizations in addition to CMS and the other HQA collaborators are
interested in hospital quality and are working to improve the quality of care
given to all Americans in our nation’s hospitals. In addition to the HQA
organizations listed above, other organizations interested in hospital quality
include:
- State Survey Agencies in every state
- Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) in every state
- The American Osteopathic Association
- The Veteran’s Administration
To help you make good health care decisions, refer to
How
To Use This Information.- Opens in a new window