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# Medicare Online Report Card
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/medicare_online_report_card_070820101230/
- Published: 2010-07-08T13:28:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T12:53:50.000Z
- Description: Hospital Compare, a federal website, pools records from Medicare patients treated at more than 3,600 hospitals and reports general information, quality of care and payment and volume data, including process-of-care measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, asthma and surgery.
- Author: Rachel Stockton
- Tags: Healthcare, Health News, #vivvo-import

Few people are aware of a government website maintained by the US Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) that allows anyone with access to the internet to compare hospitals in virtually every city in the United States.   
  
The website: www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/,is extremely user friendly and offers valuable information for anyone seeking information regarding the level of care for inpatient care, outpatient care and emergency room care. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) also submits information regarding the quality of care given in Acute Care VA Medical Centers.   
  
Hospital Compare is a compilation of data derived from records of Medicare patients treated at more than 3,600 hospitals nationwide and breaks it down into three categories “general information”, “quality of care” and “Medicare Payment & Volume Data”. The payment and volume information is for acute care hospitals and relates to Medicare payments per volume of patients treated.  
  
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), DHHS, and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) worked together in order to provide the most accurate information for patients needing medical care. The HQA is a public-private collaboration established to promote reporting on hospital quality of care and consists of organizations representing consumers, hospitals, doctors, nurses, employers, accrediting organizations and Federal agencies.  
  
Hospital Compare displays rates for Process of Care measures that show whether or not hospitals provide some of the care that is recommended for patients being treated for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, asthma (children only) or patients having surgery.  
  
Hospitals voluntarily submit data from medical records about the treatments their patients receive for these conditions. The data include patients with Medicare, those enrolled in Medicare health plans, and those who don’t have Medicare.  
  
Patient input is provided though a Survey of Patients’ Hospital Experiences, using data collected from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Survey. The intent of HCAHPS is to provide a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care.  
  
The 30-day period following hospital care in patients admitted for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia is the time period when deaths are most likely to be related to the care patients received in the hospital. The” Hospital Outcome of Care Measures” includes the 30-day Risk Adjusted Death (Mortality) and Readmission Rates for patients with Medicare who were admitted to the hospital for those specific issues. Listen to one San Antonio woman's positive experience:  
  
"A family member informed me of this website when I moved to a new city aware that I would need a heart procedure within a few months. I believe a patient must be actively involved in medical decisions, including hospital choice.  
  
Most doctors have privileges at various hospitals in the community, and mine were extremely willing to discuss the data from “Hospital Care”, that I had printed and taken with me, as well as my questions and concerns regarding hospital choice. Access to this information not only helped me make an informed choice, but gave me peace of mind that I had made the correct choice. 

Information is golden – seek it out and use it!  
  
To learn about your rights when you are in the hospital, consult the American Hospital Association's Patient's Bill of Rights.  
  
If you are a Medicare patient, the hospital should give you a copy of the Important Message From Medicare notice. You can learn more about your Medicare rights by reading the publication Your Medicare Rights and Protections."  
  
Laura King