Supporting Information

The information in the Hospital Compare database comes from six sources:

1. CMS's Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) database - Includes the hospital characteristics and inspection results. This information comes from a summary of the latest survey results. The State survey agencies are then responsible for entering survey information into the OSCAR database and providing updates as needed.
2. Clinical Quality Measures Data submitted to the QIO Clinical Warehouse - Hospitals submit patient record data for the clinical conditions.
3. The 30-day Risk-Adjusted Death (Mortality) Rates and the 30-day Risk-Adjusted Rates of Readmission are produced using complex statistical models that rely on Medicare claims and enrollment information.  The statistical model for mortality predicts deaths for  any cause within 30 days of hospital admission for heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia, whether the patients die while still in the hospital or after discharge.  The statistical model for readmission predicts patient rehospitalizations for any cause within 30 days of hospital discharge for heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia.
4. The information for the survey of patients’ hospital experiences was collected and reported through MyQualityNet using the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey. This survey asks patients about their experiences with medical, surgical, or maternity care during a recent overnight stay in the hospital.
5. The information for children’s asthma care measures are collected by The Joint Commission and are shared with CMS.
6. The Medicare inpatient hospital payment information and the number of Medicare patients treated (volume) for certain illnesses or diagnoses comes from Medicare claims.

Hospital Characteristics: If the information about your hospital's characteristics is incorrect, or has changed, please contact your state survey agency OSCAR/ASPEN Coordinator to have it updated. If you are a Medicare or Medicaid certified hospital but are not listed in this database, please contact your state survey agency to have them correct your information in CMS's Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR). The phone number for the state survey agency in your area can be found in the Helpful Contacts section of this website. Information on the accreditation status of each hospital has been removed from the website until CMS can implement improved methods to verify the accuracy of the hospital's accredited status.

Data Updates: The OSCAR data, the clinical quality measures data and the HCAHPS data contained on this website are updated quarterly, generally in March, June, September and December. There may be a lag time between the data that the information is entered into the OSCAR database and updating Hospital Compare. The mortality and readmission data and the Medicare payment and volume data are refreshed annually, mortality and readmission in June and Medicare payment and volume in September.

If you are a Medicare certified agency but are not listed in this database, please contact your State survey agency. The phone number for the State survey agency can be found in the Helpful Contacts section of this web site.