CMS Launches New Hospital Compare Site - August 9, 2011

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Aug. 5 launched its new Quality Care Finder, which is designed to provide Medicare beneficiaries with a single source of information and comparison of hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis facilities, home health agencies, physicians and Medicare plans. Most of the data derive from already-existing CMS compare sites, though this is the first time that all the information has been compiled in one place. In addition, CMS is providing new information on hospital readmissions, mortality rates and imaging experience. The physician compare portion of the website remains a work in progress, and CMS will be working to populate it with additional information about quality and health outcomes. Under the Affordable Care Act, a comprehensive site including such quality information must be completed by January 2013.