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Each year, HealthGrades issues the Hospital Quality in America study, the foundation of the hospital ratings that appear free on its Web site and are used by hospitals, major employers, health plans and millions of consumers to evaluate the quality of care at the nation’s hospitals.
As part of the study, HealthGrades independently and objectively rates the quality of care for nearly every hospital in the country, for each of twenty-eight procedures and diagnoses – from bypass surgery to knee replacement to treatment for a heart attack.
A five-star rating indicates that the hospital has below-average mortality or complication rates for that particular procedure. Three stars indicate the care is “as expected,” and one star indicates that the care is among the poorest in the nation, with above-average mortality or complication rates.
The star ratings are based on an analysis of tens of millions of patient records over a three-year period that hospitals themselves submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as state governments. The records are “risk adjusted,” meaning that hospitals taking sicker patients are compared on equal footing with other hospitals.
HealthGrades’ 2007 ratings, issued on October 16, 2006, represent data from the years 2003 through 2005, the most current information available.
HealthGrades’ ratings are purely objective, based on information that hospitals report to federal and state governments. There are no subjective elements, such as reputation, that are factored into HealthGrades’ star ratings. HealthGrades’ methodology white paper is available at www.healthgrades.com and provides additional detail.
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