CMS updated hospital performance data on its Hospital Compare website and on data.medicare.gov to help patients, families and stakeholders make informed healthcare decisions.
The data includes specific measures of hospitals' care quality, many of which are updated quarterly, and the overall hospital star ratings, which were last updated in December 2017. The data is collected through CMS hospital quality initiative programs.
"The Hospital Compare website and Star Ratings System are valuable consumer tools that provide helpful and important information on the safety and quality of our nation’s hospitals," said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. "These decision-making tools offer greater transparency on hospital performance for a wide variety of users – patients, caregivers, families and the broader healthcare industry."
CMS also posted potential changes to the Hospital Star Ratings for public comment. The changes seek to enhance the star ratings methodology by making hospital comparisons more precise and consistent.
The proposal will be open for public comment until March 29.