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Entry bubble How Good is Your Hospital?

By: Nancy | August 21, 2008 | Category: Health

A hospital is one of those things you don't really think a lot about until you need it. But there's a research tool from the government that can help you figure out now, before there's an emergency, which hospital in your region can give you the best care and the best odds of survival whether you have a planned procedure or a medical emergency.

man in hospital bed shrugging

The US Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital Compare tool lets you search for and compare the ratings of hospitals by medical procedure or health condition or simply by location. USA Today took a look at the ratings of all the hospitals listed and developed a ranking of the hospitals around the country with the best and worst survival rates for heart failure, heart attack and pneumonia.

If a planned surgery is in your future, here's a list of questions to ask your doctor about the procedure and here's a checklist to use along with the Hospital Compare site to help you talk to your doctor and your insurance company about your hospital choices.

Have a concern or complaint about your or a loved one's hospital experience? Start with the doctor or hospital staffer involved and if you don't feel the problem's been resolved, move on to the hospital's administration, your state health department or state medical board.

I don't recommend anything to you without trying it out first. So I just did a search on Hospital Compare for my area and for my mom's in New Jersey and was pleased that all of our local hospitals rated well. Whew! Take a look—how does your local hospital measure up?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [9] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: hospital   medical   nancy  

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