Study: National hospital rating systems share few common scores

Four national hospital rating systems for consumers vary widely in their results, according to a study reported today in Health Affairs. “No hospital was rated as a high performer by all four national rating systems,” the study found. “Only 10% of the 844 hospitals rated as a high performer by one rating system were rated as a high performer by any of the other rating systems.” The study compared hospital ratings by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals, HealthGrades’ America’s 100 Best Hospitals, Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Score, and Consumer Reports’ Health Safety Score. “While the lack of agreement among these rating systems is largely explained by their different foci and measures, these differences are likely unclear to most stakeholders,” the authors said. “The complexity and opacity of the ratings is likely to cause confusion instead of driving patients and purchasers to higher-quality, safer care.”