Additional Quality Report Cards


The standard of medical care in the U.S. is monitored by official agencies and various special interest groups. These groups use a variety of methodologies to rank institutions and providers in terms of quality. Results are primarily available in publications or on the Internet. A few agencies and groups are listed below.

    

 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

http://www.ahrq.gov/

A US Department of Health and Human Services website with guides on choosing quality care and directories of healthcare report cards which provide comparative information on the quality of health plans, hospitals, medical groups, individual physicians, nursing homes, and other providers of care.

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California HealthCare Foundation

University of California at San Francisco Institute for Health Policy Studies
California Hospitals Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART)

http://www.calhospitalcompare.org/

 

Patient experience measures come from the CAHPS Hospital Survey. Clinical measures vary by condition / procedure: heart attack, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, maternity, pneumonia, other conditions, and other surgery. Patient safety measures are also reported.

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California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development

http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/HQAD/Outcomes/Studies/ HeartAttacks/index.htm

Outcome data refers to the mortality rates of heart attack patients admitted to California hospitals.

 

http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/HQAD/Outcomes/Studies/CAP/index.htm

Outcome data refers to the mortality rates of pneumonia patients admitted to California hospitals.

 

http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/HQAD/Outcomes/Clinical.htm

The California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: 2000-2002 Hospital Data. This report is part of California CABG Mortality Reporting Program (CCMRP), a voluntary program designed to collect CABG mortality data for participating California hospitals. CCMRP is being replaced with a mandatory CABG reporting program known as California CABG Outcomes Reporting Program (CCORP).

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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare

http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov

Report on the quality of care provided by hospitals around the country which includes 20 standardized measures falling into four categories: heart attack care, heart failure care, pneumonia care, and prevention of surgical infection.

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Consumers' CHECKBOOK; Center for the Study of Services Guide to Hospitals

http://www.checkbook.org

Report on quality of hospitals, available nationally, which includes adjusted mortality and adverse outcomes for 10 medical conditions and 2 surgical procedures. Structural measure is JCAHO accreditation score. Other quality measures include physicians' ratings of hospital quality from mail survey sent to 260,000 physicians in major metro areas. Also reports major medical school affiliation; # of residents; and use of computerized drug ordering system. In some parts of the country, includes responses from patients regarding their experiences with care.

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Health Grades Hospital Report Cards

http://www.healthgrades.com

Report on the quality of hospitals across the country.

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Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Quality Check

http://www.qualitycheck.org

Includes accreditation status and listing of other accredited programs. Also information on achievement of National Patient Safety Goals and National Quality Improvement Goals (for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and pregnancy and related conditions).

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Leapfrog Group Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey Results 

http://www.leapfroggroup.org/for_consumers

Report on safety of hospitals across the country. Measures reflect implementation of 30 NQF-endorsed practices intended to ensure patient quality and safety. These recommended practices include use of computerized physician order entry, evidence-based hospital referrals, and intensivists in the ICU. In addition, 27 procedures to reduce preventable mistakes are rolled into a "safe practices" score.

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PacifiCare

http://www.pacificare.com/commonPortal/index.jsp

Covers 56 measures of risk-adjusted mortality, complications, utilization, and patient experience within cardiac care (CHF, CABG, AMI), orthopedics, pulmonary/respiratory (chronic lung disease, pneumonia), stroke, surgery (cancer, gall bladder), ICU (by diagnosis and procedure). Also covers Leapfrog measures. Patient experience measures come from PEP-C survey conducted in California.

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