34 Hospital Compare

34.1 Organization

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

34.3 Description

  • Use to find and compare quality of over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals in U.S.
  • Includes general hospital information such as name and address, survey of patients’ experiences, as well as information about the timeliness and effectiveness of care, complications and deaths, unplanned hospital visits, use of medical imaging, and payment and value of care
  • Also includes an overall hospital rating designed for comparison across hospitals

34.4 Vintage/Release Frequency

Collection frequency and data refresh varies by data field, but annually available

34.5 Observational Unit

Hospital

34.6 Collection Methodology

  • Data sources vary according to data field but include: CMS Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting (CASPER) system; online data entry tools; CMS Abstraction and Reporting Tool (CART); External Peer Review Program (EPRP); National Healthcare Safety network (NHSN); Medicare enrollment and claims data; Veterans Health Administration (VHA) administrative data; Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey; and, Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEP)
  • Overall rating calculated using a latent variable model

34.8 User Guide/Data Dictionary

Data dictionary and other supporting documentation available at same website as data download

34.9 Cost

Free for download

34.10 Proposal or Application required?

No

34.11 DUA required?

No

34.12 Special Notes

  • Within the hospital compare website, they also note the availability of data for comparing nursing homes, physicians, home health, dialysis facilities, hospice, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, and suppliers.