CMS is working with the members of the Hospital Quality Alliance — a national private-public partnership of hospital, consumer, provider, employer, payer, and government agencies — to make HAC data accessible to the public in meaningful, relevant, and easily understood ways. Later this year, CMS will work with the Alliance and directly with consumers about how to fold HAC data directly into the Hospital Compare framework. For now, HAC data is available through a downloadable file linked to the Hospital Compare website.
CMS is also working with its Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) contractors and to give hospitals the resources they need to eliminate HACs as much as possible. For instance, QIOs have been working since 2008 with providers across the country to reduce rates of hospital-associated infections, slow rates of pressure ulcers in nursing homes and hospitals, and improve safety and reduce infection for surgery patients. More information about QIOs’ efforts is online at http://www.cms.gov/qualityimprovementorgs.
In addition to information about HACs, Hospital Compare reports 25 inpatient and 5 outpatient process of care measures, readmission and mortality rates for certain conditions, three children’s asthma care measures, and 10 measures that capture patient satisfaction with hospital care. The site also features information about the volume of certain hospital procedures performed and conditions treated for Medicare patients and what Medicare pays for those services.
The information contained on Hospital Compare is available for consumers to use in making health care decisions. However, consumers should gather information from multiple sources when choosing a hospital.
To review the HAC data CMS released today, please visit the “Hospital Spotlight” section of Hospital Compare online at www.HealthCare.gov/compare.
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