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How Do You Choose the Best Hospital? |
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Choosing a hospital is a decision that can affect your health and the rest of your life. Unfortunately most people don’t even consider their options and simply use whichever hospital is closest. This is probably because with over 50,000 hospitals nationwide, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. The key is to research your choices so you find a hospital that fits your needs and provides quality care. Below is a list of factors to consider when selecting a hospital: |
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1. Specialty Services
Where to seek care depends on what you need. Most hospitals are equipped to handle most conditions, and in an emergency you should always head to your nearest hospital emergency room. However, many hospitals exist which specialize in certain treatment areas. Some examples and links to specific searches are below.
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2. Location
In an emergency, the closest hospital is always the best, if not the only, option. That’s why it is important to consider proximity to quality hospitals when choosing a new home. In other situations such as elective surgeries or childbirth, location may not be as important as the quality of care the hospital provides or their track record for treating patients with dignity and respect.
You can obtain a list of hospitals closest to you by using our search tool on this page. Just enter a zip code and click the search button. You'll be given a list of hospitals closest to you. If you have a specific provider in mind, use the Search
by Provider Name option. If you choose advanced search, you can narrow down the list by providing a radius limit.
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3. Quality
Quality is often is often overlooked when choosing a hospital but it is extremely important. WhereToFindCare.com gives a brief overview of available quality data to help make your decision easier.
First, Understand the Basics of Quality Data on WhereToFindCare.com
Quality data on WhereToFindCare.com are obtained from the federal government and from user surveys.
Federal government data are from the agency in charge of buying health care, called CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). CMS monitors the quality of health care it purchases by requiring providers such as hospitals to report information in four different categories: Heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical infection prevention and mortality. These categories each have several pieces of data that change often. But rest assured, the analysts at WhereToFindCare.com continuously monitor and update them as often as possible. On WhereToFindCare.com, we refer to these government quality scores as Quality Score, and are found in search results (shown above) as well as each hospital’s home page. To see the detail behind a hospital’s Quality Score, click the hospital’s name in the search results then choose the Quality tab. Choose "See Details" next to the desired condition.
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Quality data from user surveys are obtained in real-time from people who have been experience with a hospital and have submitted a review on WhereToFindCare.com. The WTFC Quality Score is the percentage of people who rated the hospital on WhereToFindCare.com and said they received quality care. This experience-based satisfaction score cannot be found elsewhere today except by word of mouth.
Next, Compare Quality Scores
WhereToFindCare.com gives you two quality scores to assist you in choosing a nursing home provider: Quality Score (from the federal government) and WTFC Quality Score (from patient surveys completed on WhereToFindCare.com).
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WhereToFindCare.com simplifies the many pieces of quality data from CMS into one value called Quality Score. This score is displayed in your search results and on each hospital’s home page. Each hospital’s Quality Score is the percentage of measures that met or exceeded the national average. Sometimes, however, CMS feels a hospital did not have enough patients to make a judgment on its quality. In these cases, Quality Scores are not displayed. When available, detailed quality information is available on the Quality tab of each hospital’s home page.
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4. Recommendations |
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Word of mouth recommendations are very important. Recommendations can tell us whether we can get along with providers on a personal level. Ask friends, family, and other associates if they have had experiences with the hospitals on your list. You can also use WhereToFindCare.com to find word of mouth recommendations.
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We ask patients, visitors, and caregivers to rate providers by taking a short survey. You can read other people’s experience by going to a provider’s page on WhereToFindCare.com and clicking on the Survey Results tab. There you see how others answered survey questions, and any comments made about the provider. Also look for CareStars™ recognition. People may have left comments on WhereToFindCare.com about exceptional caregivers at each hospital. CareStars™ comments give you a sense that the hospital employs caring individuals that will provide the service you need. And once you selected a hospital, please revisit WhereToFindCare.com and share your experience by rating your provider. Your recommendation will help others make their decision.
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5. Consider What Each Hospital Offers
Once you’ve narrowed down your list, you should consider all the other things each facility has to offer. In your search results, click on the name of a hospital to see more information such as photos, video tours, amenities, description of available services, insurance accepted, contact information, beds, and much more.
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Information on WheretoFindCare.com is for informational purposes only. See the disclaimer on the Terms of Service page. |
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WhereToFindCare.com was developed by independent health care analysts to make choosing a health care provider easier.
Copyright © 2008-2009 WhereToFindCare.com. All rights reserved.
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