Guide to Hospitals

Health Grades (www.healthgrades.com) – A private company that rates more than 5,000 hospitals on 32 conditions and procedures, from appendectomies to heart valve-replacement surgery. Much of the information is available at no cost, and searchable by state, procedure, and other criteria. More elaborate reports available for $18.

Hospital Compare (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) – According to the Wall Street Journal, Hospital Compare is the best-known source for hospital data. The site was jointly established by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and hospitals and other groups. An easy-to-use search tool lets you find and compare hospitals in your area on 36 criteria, and on hospital performance in certain procedures. Database includes patient assessments on such criteria as cleanliness, noise level, and the communications skills of doctors and nurses.

Joint Commission (www.qualitycheck.org) – An independent nonprofit that accredits most of the hospitals in the US. Users can search by hospital, location or type of service, and get reports on hospital practices that draw on the commission’s inspections of facilities it accredits.

Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) – A not-for-profit consortium of big health-care buyers (e.g., General Motors) provides hospital ratings that are available to the public. The site collects some data of its own, and analyzes 30 different practices at about 1,300 hospitals.

Qualitycheck (www.qualitycheck.org) – Established by the independent nonprofit group that accredits most US hospitals, this site lets you search by hospital, location, or type of service, and get reports on the hospital practices used for accreditation.