The CMS Hospital Compare website (https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html) allows you to compare performance at hospitals throughout the United States.
1. Go to this site, and search for 2 hospitals in your state or city and 1 hospital in a neighboring state. List which hospitals you chose.
2. Compare the data for each of the measures for all 3 hospitals. Look at the data under each of the measures (i.e. general information, survey of patients’ experiences, timely and effective care, etc.) Compare and contrast the 3 institutions that you chose.
3. Based on your review, discuss which measures you felt would be the most important to consider when making a decision about a hospital. Which performance measures are least important to your decision?
4. Did you find any information that concerned you about any of the institutions you chose? Do you think this information would be helpful to consumers? Why or why not?
