Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News
May 22, 2008 11:57 am
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CUMBERLAND - There are Internet tools to help consumers be very informed about what types of vehicles or electronics they purchase and which institutions of higher education they attend.
Shoppers now have an intensive online site to find out what the best hospital is for the ailment they are suffering. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a $1.9 million ad campaign to promote www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, a tool which allows users to see how other patients rated nearly 4,000 hospitals across the country, including both Western Maryland Health System hospitals in Cumberland, Garrett County Memorial Hospital, Potomac Valley Hospital in Keyser, W.Va., and Hampshire Memorial Hospital in Romney, W.Va.
The site is managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and is directed toward CMS clients. The information, however, is available for everyone.
"We at CMS feel that it's very important that our Medicare beneficiaries know about the quality of care in health care facilities," said Nancy O'Connor, a regional administrator for CMS. "What we are trying to do is raise awareness (of) the impact of reporting hospital quality information, where people can get information about a hospital's performance."
O'Connor said the ad campaign and Web site are just two parts of a concerted effort to educate Medicare patients "about the importance of making value-based decisions" regarding their health care.
The database includes patient experience-of-care information available through a new patient survey called the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health care Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS. It is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of care.
And while a patient's perception could be off the mark for a number of reasons - it could have the reliability of a witness to a violent crime - one local hospital official said it's worth keeping track of such information.
"We really value our patients' perception of care," said Rena Litten, director of performance improvement for the Western Maryland Health System, which operates both the Cumberland Memorial Hospital and the Braddock Hospital on Seton Drive.
"It may not be a scientific measurement," Litten said, but "it's what they believe, and their perception is what's important. We take it very seriously."
Litten said WMHS officials take a look at such numbers, which are reported by hospitals to CMS, and see where there is room for improvement.
One example was Memorial Hospital's nighttime operations. Only 42 percent of patients reported the area around them was "always" quiet at night. The Braddock campus scored 45 percent. Similar numbers for other area hospitals were not available.
Litten said one area of concern about such reporting is the timeliness of the information. The scores currently on the Web site are not current, she said, and WMHS figures have improved in that area since they were reported.
"We are very pleased with our results," Litten said. "We think we've done well for the most part. Are we satisfied with them? No. We want 100 percent."
"I'm a believer that providing information to make a well-informed decision about your health care is very important," O'Connor said. "We believe that Medicare beneficiaries should be making informed decisions around their health care."
O'Connor said it's important for hospital shoppers to discuss options with family, physicians and hospital staff. Future ratings, she said, will include information on physicians.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.
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