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To the editor: On April 1, Hospital Compare, a new
consumer Internet resource on the quality of health care providers
throughout the country, was launched. Hospital Compare is viewable
by visiting either
www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov or
www.medicare.gov.
The Hospital Compare program is a
result of a partnership that involves the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (the agency of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services that runs Medicare), hospitals, hospital
associations, national accreditors, and consumer groups.
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
and Memorial Health System completely and unequivocally support
transparency of quality data and initiatives to promote that
transparency. With the vision of being the leading health care
system that people choose over all others, we see the reporting of
this information as not only a responsibility to our patients, but
also a means of holding ALMH and the health system accountable to
our goals and objectives. We encourage anyone with questions about
the quality of local health care to take advantage of this new
resource.
Hospital Compare differs from other
health care quality sites, in that hospitals listed have chosen to
voluntarily report the information included. Hospital data is
collected from the entire payer mix rather than any specific group.
Currently, compiled data is from nationally agreed upon measures on
three common conditions that affect patients: heart attack, heart
failure and pneumonia. Some hospitals may have data on additional
conditions, and in the future, new measures and information on
patient satisfaction will be added.
[to top of second column in this letter] |
 The launch of this website is the
first time national data have been made available directly from
Medicare to consumers. Hospital Compare has been designed to offer a
more scientific-based, "apples to apples" comparison of different
hospitals on a national basis through the use of appropriate
inclusions and exclusions. The public is encouraged to review the
data on the site and then talk with their physician about any
concerns and about quality of care.
In addition to the website,
consumers may call 1 (800) MEDICARE [1 (800) 633-4227] to get
information to help make more informed health care decisions.
Dolan Dalpoas
Assistant Administrator
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
(Posted April 7, 2005)
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