Ohio’s Hospital Compare site goes live

The Ohio Department of Health this month launched a new Web site that lets users look up outcomes, patient satisfaction and other performance measures for hospitals across the state (Source: “State launches new Web site to compare hospitals,” Akron Beacon-Journal, Jan. 4, 2010).

The free Ohio Hospital Compare tool includes more than 100 measures in a dozen categories: heart attack care, heart failure care, heart surgery, stroke care, pneumonia care, surgical care, hospital-acquired infections, infection prevention measures, patient safety, patient satisfaction, children's asthma care and pregnancy/delivery.

The majority of the data available online is based on patient care delivered in 2008. Although about 65 percent of the information is obtainable from other sources, primarily from the online hospital compare tool run by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, information about stroke care, heart surgery, patient safety, infection prevention measures and pregnancy care at hospitals previously wasn't easily accessible for Ohio patients, according to ODH officials.