Industry News

CMS Releases Quality Data on Physician Compare and Hospital Compare Websites.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently updated the quality performance data for two of its online consumer tools, Physician Compare and Hospital Compare.  The Affordable Care Act established Physician Compare to help consumers make informed choices about the health care they receive from Medicare physicians and other professionals.  The number of individuals, groups, and organizations reporting quality data has gradually increased since Physician Compare was created.  Similarly, Hospital Compare informs patients about hospital quality and encourages hospitals to improve levels of care.  Hospital Compare further allows patients and family members to simultaneously compare multiple hospitals on performance related to heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgery, and other conditions.

The released quality performance data includes:

  • Additional performance scores on preventive care, diabetes, cardiovascular care, and patient safety;
  • New performance scores on patient experiences with approximately 290 group practices;
  • The first set of individual health care professional performance scores on preventive care, cardiovascular care, and patient safety measures;
  • Updated performance scores for Accountable Care Organizations;
  • A new measure for the Inpatient Quality Reporting program showing whether a hospital uses safe surgery practices; and
  • Additional data on certain health care-associated infections.

The release of quality measures will allow consumers to make informed health care decisions, encourage health care professionals to improve quality of care, and drive overall health system improvement.

The CMS press release is available at:

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2015-Press-releases-items/2015-12-10.html.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  “CMS Expands Quality Data on Physician Compare and Hospital Compare to Help Consumers Choose Health Care Providers.”  Press Release.  10 Dec. 2015.