Related Health Services Research Web Sites are arranged by subject or alphabetically. AHRQ has the largest all-payer inpatient care database in the United States They also provide a tool for identifying, tracking, and comparing statistics on hospitals at the national, regional, and state level in HCUPnet . It is searchable by specific conditions of interest or diagnostic categories. Viewers have the choice of outcome measures including length of stay, charges, in-hospital deaths, and discharge status. It compares patients by age, sex, type of hospital, etc.
Outcomes describe the results of care or treatment.
One basic quality measurement is accreditation. This site lists accredited hospitals and explains the process they use. U.S.News and World Reports uses reputation, mortality, technology, nursing care, and other factors to rank U.S. hospitals. They publish the survey results in their magazine, but it is also available at this web site. They are a helpful adjunct to evaluating and selecting options.