It is now possible for patients to compare the care received at hospitals in Maryland and the District of Columbia. This can be useful in determining whether certain Maryland and Washington D.C. hospitals have a higher incidence of medical malpractice. As reported today in a leading newspaper, consumers can now search a website and compare local hospitals to see how they stack up against each other.
Last year, the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a comparison of death rates for heart failure and heart attacks, noting how hospitals compared with the national average – better, worse or no different – without releasing the death rates themselves. This year the agency disclosed that information to consumers. The website contains statistics on what percentage of a hospital’s patients get appropriate care for a variety of ailments, including childhood asthma, and 10 measures of patient satisfaction with the hospital experience. Knowing a hospital’s death rates also gives consumers the ability to decide where they want to be treated, and where medical malpractice is more prevalent.
We handle cases like these all of the time in my practice.
Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786