How to Find the Best Hospital

Private Entities

Topping the list of private entities offering information on hospital quality to the public is the Leapfrog Group. The organization assesses hospitals' use of computerized physician order entry systems, intensive care unit staffing levels, performance of several high-risk procedures, and progress on 27 safe practice guidelines. The group released its list of the top 41 hospitals last month.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is well known within the provider industry. Hospitals work very hard to meet accreditation standards set by JCAHO that cover performance issues as they relate to medication, treatment of pain, staffing and infection control.

While it may not be an organization you have heard of, JCAHO does provide quality information and reports to the public. I recommend you check out this Web site. You should first check the hospital's accreditation status, paying attention to what actual programs and services JCAHO has accredited.

The company uses a check mark and plus/minus signs (which I found a little confusing at first, so I downloaded the user guide) to highlight a providers compliance with patient safety goals such as reducing the risk of infections and harm resulting from patient falls. Information on quality improvement goals relating to heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia care are culled from the Medicare dataset mentioned above, and then compared to other accredited organizations.