“The Maryland Health Care Quality Reports represents a shift in public reporting toward more consumer centered tools that enable consumers to become more engaged in their healthcare decisions,” said Ben Steffen, Executive Director of the Maryland Heath Care Commission.
The new Hospital Performance Guide, now one key component of the Maryland Health Care Quality Reports, enables consumers to search and compare information on the 46 Maryland hospitals. The site has been redesigned based on the input from consumer focus groups and quality experts. The new guide contains important data on how well hospitals perform on quality measures – such as the frequency of certain infections that develop in the hospital and how often patients have to be readmitted to the hospital. Chairman of the Maryland Health Care Commission, Dr. Craig Tanio, announced release of the redesigned Performance Guide, which includes information on patient satisfaction, infection reporting, patient safety, and the costs of 25 common services such as childbirth and heart failure.
“This vastly improved website will provide new information in an easy-to-use format to patients and will inform hospital decision makers on how their institutions compare, both in Maryland and to national standards for performance,” said Dr. Tanio.
About the Maryland Health Care Commission
The Maryland Health Care Commission is a 15-member independent regulatory agency whose mission is to plan for health system needs, promote informed decision-making, increase accountability, and improve access in a rapidly changing health care environment by providing timely and accurate information on availability, cost, and quality of services to policy makers, purchasers, providers and the public. The 15 Commissioners are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Maryland Senate. The Commission's vision for Maryland is to ensure that informed consumers hold the health care system accountable and have access to affordable and appropriate health care services through programs that serve as models for the nation.
For Additional Information about the Hospital Guide, contact: Theressa Lee, Director, Center for Quality Measurement and Reporting at 410-764-3328
