Government
Government Web site offers hospital quality report cards
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 18, 2005
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched a Web site where physicians and patients can see how hospitals compare when it comes to quality of care.
Nearly 4,200 hospitals have volunteered data on 17 measures related to heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. Facilities are rated based on what percentage of heart attack patients receive beta blockers upon arrival. Hospitals that do not submit a sufficient amount of data will receive a 0.4% reduction in their Medicare reimbursements. Data on hospital quality are available online (link).
Federal officials have said that the initiative can serve as a model for future efforts to assess other Medicare participants, including physicians. Publicizing the results would spur quality improvements within individual practices, they said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/04/18/gvbf0418.htm.