As of Thursday, potential patients can now see star ratings of hospitals on CMS' Hospital Compare website.
The star ratings are based on HCAHPS scores. CMS added the star ratings to "make it easier for consumers to use the information on the Compare Web sites and spotlight excellence in healthcare quality," according to the HCAHPS website. Each hospital will have 12 star ratings — one for each of the 11 publicly reported HCAHPS measures, and one as the HCAHPS Summary Star Rating. The Summary Star Rating combines the 11 HCAHPS star ratings into one comprehensive metric.
"These star ratings also encourage hospitals and clinicians to strive to continuously improve the patient experience and quality of care delivered to all patients," said Patrick Conway, MD, acting principle deputy administrator for CMS and deputy administrator for innovation and quality.
As of April 16, 3,553 hospitals have a Summary Star Rating ranging from one (the worst) to five (the best) stars. Hospitals must have at least 100 completed surveys in a 12-month period to receive a star rating.
The following is a breakdown of how many hospitals received each star rating.
- 1 star: 101 hospitals (3 percent)
- 2 stars: 582 hospitals (15 percent)
- 3 stars: 1,414 hospitals (40 percent)
- 4 stars: 1,205 hospitals (34 percent)
- 5 stars: 251 hospitals (7 percent)
The HCAHPS star ratings will be updated each quarter, according to CMS. Find more information here.