The quality data on HHS' Hospital Compare website does not distinguish the majority of hospitals from one another, as the majority of hospitals fall within a small range of quality scores, according to a study in Health Services Research.
Researchers examined Hospital Compare data from approximately 3,000 hospitals reporting adherence rate to Surgical Care Improvement Project protocols, quality measures to reduce surgical site infections. They separated the hospitals by referral region.
They found 97 percent of hospital referral regions had an SCIP score of 1, indicating at least a 95 percent adherence rate to SCIP measures. In 93 percent of referral regions, approximately half of the hospitals of that referral region were within five percent of the median score.
Researchers said the lack of variation in scores makes it difficult for patients to differentiate between care quality of hospitals in their region, according to a Center for Advancing Health report discussing the study.
They suggest public reporting should be improved to provide more transparent information to positively impact patient decision making, according to the study.
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