CMS Updates Hospital Comparison Site

The hospital industry, through CMS, is now providing even more statistical data on quality measures for consumers much like other competitive industries. Consumers will now be "better equiped" to choose between healthcare providers based on the data reported to CMS, according to a CMS News Release on July 7, 2010. A video of the original site launch is available, below.

In the news release, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated, "The more information consumers and patients have, the better the options and choices are for them when it comes to their health care. HealthCare.gov is designed to put the power of information at the fingertips of Americans and our quality compare tools are a critical part of this new website. This new update to CMS’ Hospital Compare feature will help patients and their families better compare quality at America’s hospitals."

www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov

The whole site is apparently an attempt by CMS to make hospitals more competitive. According to the press release, "...by posting hospital RSMRs, interval estimates, and the number of eligible cases, CMS is giving consumers and communities additional insight into the performance of their local hospitals in hopes that this will prompt all hospitals to work toward achieving the level of the top-performing hospitals in the country." (emphasis added)

New Inpatient Data: Mortality Rates and Readmission Rates

Also, the new update to the site includes new thirty-day mortality rates and thirty-day readmissions rates for inpatients admitted with heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia, (heart failure and pneumonia are two of the top five diagnoses in the country). Plus, these rates now encompass three full years of claims data (from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2009).

Outpatient Data Now Available