Facing heart surgery? If you are, it is critically important to choose a hospital that has performed the surgery numerous times. But how do you know if your hospital is top-notch? Johns Hopkins provides practical advice.
Until recently, it has been easier to shop for a high-quality car than for high-quality healthcare. Fortunately, a number of organizations are making performance records of hospitals available to consumers.
One of these is the Department of Health and Human Services, whose site (www.hospitalcompare .hhs.gov) ranks hospitals based on their adherence to treatment guidelines for certain conditions, including heart attacks and heart failure. The site also gives each hospital’s death rates for these diseases.
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, offers quality reports at www.qualitycheck.org that show how a hospital stacks up against others in its state and nationwide. Some websites focus on hospitals within a certain state: mhcc.maryland.gov/consumerinfo/ hospitalguide/index.htm details Maryland hospitals; data on New York hospitals can be found at www.myhealthfinder.com.
Companies such as Health Grades (www.healthgrades.com) also offer reports rating hospitals according to various criteria, such as the ratio of nurses to patients. But the data offered by all of these sites need to be taken with a grain of salt. A higher death rate may simply be a sign that a hospital treats sicker patients -- not that it offers subpar care.
So what should you focus on? One of the most important factors is procedure volume. You want to choose a hospital in your area that performs heart surgery most often. If you can’t find this information online, call local hospitals or ask your doctor.
