New Government Web Site Provides Hospital Data on 17 Quality Measures, USA

03 Apr 2005   

The federal government on Wednesday launched a new... Web site to provide information on hospitals' compliance with 17 widely used quality measures in treating heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Web site, called Hospital Compare, includes data from all but about 60 of the nation's 4,200 general hospitals. Users can compare information from individual hospitals with state and national averages and data from other institutions (Rundle, Wall Street Journal, 4/1). According to CMS spokesperson Rod Haynes, 65% of hospitals around the country released data for all 17 measures. Hospital participation in the comparison-assessment program is voluntary, but the government has said it will increase reimbursement rates for beneficiaries of federal- and state-funded health care plans for hospitals who release their data (Ostrom, Seattle Times, 4/1). The site does not include information on mortality rates from cardiac surgery and does not provide information on hospital or physician charges. Hospitals are not ranked on the Hospital Compare site. However, consumer Web sites such as HealthGrades.com are expected to use the data to develop hospital ratings. Hospitals previously have been reluctant to report health care performance data publicly because of concerns that the data could be inaccurate, misleading or affect the hospitals' reputations, the Journal reports. However, consumers, employers and health insurers in recent years have urged hospitals to operate more transparently.

Reaction
CMS Director Mark McClellan said, "This is another big step toward supporting and rewarding better quality, rather than just paying more and supporting more services," adding that the government "ends up paying more when a patient gets poor-quality care and is readmitted" to the hospital. Dick Davidson, president of the American Hospital Association, said, "I think all of our hospitals realize that it's a whole new world," adding, "If you appear to conceal information, or are reluctant to share it, it gives the impression that you must have something to hide." Sarah Loughran, executive vice president of Health Grades, said that the Web site "heightens consumers' awareness and tells them they should do their homework to make conscious decisions" (Wall Street Journal, 4/1). Charles Idelson, a spokesperson for the California Nurses Association, said information included on the Web site is "minimally useful for patients." He added, "They're looking at whether the hospital followed standardized protocols. They're not even looking at whether the patient lived or died." Lisa McGiffert, who heads Consumer Union's campaign for public disclosure of hospital infection rates, said, "We think that this is some progress," but she added that current practices at the hospital might be different because data on the site is a year old (Seattle Times, 4/1).

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