Federal Government Ranks Hospitals; Controversy Created
By: Cohen, Placitella & Roth @ Sep 19, 2016
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services recently released its new, five-star scale hospital rankings, shaking up previously held conceptions about the best hospitals in the nation. While hospitals across the nation have pushed back against the ranking system, saying that they unfairly rank the hospitals that have the sickest patients and the most severe injuries, the federal government has said that it has created an objective gauge of quality, something that patients need. According to an article in Philly.com, the majority of hospitals in the Philadelphia area were ranked as below average.
If you have received below-average care and have been harmed as a result, call our law offices to discuss your medical malpractice case now.
Factors that Affect Federal Ranking of Hospitals
There are a number of factors that were considered in order to determine the number of stars (one through five) that a hospital should receive. According to a list provided by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (cited above), these factors include:
- How well doctors and nurses communicate with their patients;
- How well-prepared patients were for post-hospital settings (home, care facilities, etc.);
- Cleanliness of hospitals;
- How quiet hospitals were;
- Death rates;
- Infection rates; and
- How responsive hospital staff were to patients’ needs.
The above list is not inclusive; Medicare based their rankings on a total of 64 different factors. The rankings were developed in an effort to provide patients with more transparency about the quality of care available.
Did Any Hospitals Receive 5 Stars?
Yes – 102 hospitals throughout the nation were recipients of a full five stars. However, the location of these five-star facilities is surprising, and many are skeptical about the fact that some of the nation’s most renowned facilities received lower ratings, with no-name places getting four of five stars. In fact, there were more five-star facilities named in Lincoln, Nebraska, than there were in New York.
In Philadelphia, there were two hospitals in the area that received the full five stars: Chester County Hospital and Paoli Hospital. Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, on the other hand, received just a single star. There were more hospitals throughout the nation (129) to receive a one-star rating than there were hospitals that received a five-star rating.
Happily, there were at least 10 hospitals in the Philadelphia region that received a higher-than-average rating of four stars.
Contact Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys
At the law firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C., we believe that access to high quality health care is a right, not a privilege. Unfortunately, a preliminary Medicare analysis found that those hospitals that fared the worst tend to be those that treat the highest number of low income patients, illustrating that socioeconomic status may very well affect the quality of healthcare a person receives.
If you believe that your right to a high level of care has been breached, and if you have suffered harm because of hospital or doctor malpractice, we want to help you. To schedule your free, no obligation, case consultation with our experienced Philadelphia malpractice attorneys, call us now or visit us online.
