100
Top Hospitals.com
Published by the health-care consulting firm Solucient, this web site identifies
the top hospitals in the United States based upon empirical findings from publicly
available performance data. The consulting firm studies hospital performance in
a number of categories, including Intensive Care Unit (ICU) operation, stroke treatment,
orthopedic care, treatment of cardiovascular disease, clinical research programs
and overall performance. Visitors to this site may view the most current annual
list of 100 top hospitals in each of these fields. Users may also access previously
published reports, order printed copies of the firm's quality reports and register
for access to the firm's online rating products.
The Center for
Medical Consumers
The Center for Medical Consumers is a non-profit advocacy organization whose mission
is to improve the quality of health care. Of particular interest on this site are
the Center's "Procedure Volume" reports, which indicate the number of procedures
performed by specific hospitals and providers in a given year. (Evidence suggests
a relationship between high volume and high quality outcomes for a number of medical
procedures.) Visitors to this site may also learn more about quality-related developments
in the health-care industry and read about the Center's advocacy efforts in state
and federal health-care policy.
HealthGrades.com
This unusual web site provides users with report cards on health plans, physicians,
and hospitals throughout the U.S. Profiles of alternative care providers, specialty
clinics and assisted living facilities are available as well. Using an interactive
database provided on the site, users may access individual report cards or compare
several different report cards at once.
The Leapfrog Group
for Patient Safety
The Leapfrog Group is comprised of Fortune 500 companies and other large health
care purchasers, and is committed to advocating for the improvement of health-care
quality. Visitors to this site may download fact sheets and read articles concerning
proposed improvements in the health-care system. Information pertaining to the Group's
mission, membership and upcoming events is also available.
myHealthFinder.com
MyHealthFinder.com is a project undertaken by the Niagara Health Quality Coalition.
Posted on this site are reports concerning quality measurement and quality improvement
initiatives in the health-care industry. Visitors to this site may also access information
pertaining to health-care costs as well as a number of educational articles and
links of interest to health-care consumers.
American
Board of Medical Specialties
The ABMS is an organization of 24 medical specialty boards whose goal is to maintain
and improve health-care quality by developing and implementing new standards for
physician board certification. Visitors to this site can verify the board certification
status of a doctor or may search for a listing of board certified doctors according
to their location or specialty. Users may also view conference proceedings published
by ABMS online, peruse a list of books published by the organization and learn more
about ABMS activities and upcoming events.
National
Committee for Quality Assurance
This nationally recognized accreditation organization provides users with "report
card" ratings of participating health-care plans throughout the United States. Visitors
may access and compare the scores of health plans via an online database using a
variety of search criteria.
National Patient Safety Foundation
Users may access reports, download consumer advice for reducing medical errors,
join an online discussion group or access links to other sites concerned with enhancing
patient safety.
