Hospitals all over the country often compete to be listed as a
“top hospital”, or to be named to the “hospital honor roll.” Evaluations of hospitals are
proliferating, giving patients unprecedented insight into data that they can
use when choosing where to go for care. The lists are put out by non-profits
and professional organizations alike, both on a state and national level, and
can lead to more recognition, more patients, and more money.
According to Kaiser
Health News, though, these ratings can sometimes provide as much confusion as
clarity. Each organization uses
their own methodology to rank facilities, sometimes resulting in wildly different
conclusions. St. Mary Mercy Linovia Hospital in Michigan, for example, was
given an “A” by The Leapfrog Group, a respected nonprofit that promotes patient
safety. The company Healthgrades named it one of America's best 50 hospitals.
But the Joint Commission and U.S. News and World Report omitted St. Mary from
their best hospital lists due to high readmission rates and what they deemed to
be excessive tests.
The process of ranking hospitals is
still in its infancy and the quality of the data is rudimentary. Some agencies
are also shifting their criteria as the Affordable Care Act changes the focus
from procedural based rating to quality based ratings. This could lead the
ranking systems to get more confusing before they equal out.
For a fee, most ratings can be used
in hospital promotional materials. Others can be viewed online, which is
important in an age where the internet is the first research step. While the
debate over the ratings scales will continue, most hospitals still aspire to be
on the various lists.
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