CMS Enhances Hospital Compare Website

On March 28, 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Press Release announcing that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted new survey information on the Hospital Compare website. 

According to the Press Release, the patient experience of care information that CMS added to the Hospital Compare site is part of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Hospital Survey (HCAHPS).  HCAHPS is a national, standardized survey of patient perspectives on the care they experience during a hospital stay. In addition to adding new patient hospital stay information, HHS reports that CMS has added certain pricing and volume information to the Hospital Compare site that includes the acute care hospital payments Medicare made for the treatment of certain illnesses.

HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt believes that "[b]y enhancing these resources, Medicare is strengthening its commitment to use the transparency of quality information to help give consumers more choice about the quality of their health care and how they may be able to lower their health care costs."  According to the Press Release, the enhancements also serve to implement President Bush's Executive Order 13410, which is intended to promote value drive health care by ensuring transparent quality and price information, interoperable health information technology and incentives for high-quality, efficient health care delivery.

For more information, visit the CMS website where CMS has posted a Fact Sheet on the Medicare payment and volume information for consumers and a Fact Sheet on HCAHPS.