Inpatient Measures

Hospital Compare currently provides information on:

• 27 quality measures, which include clinical process of care (24) and clinical outcome (3) measures.
• 10 patient experience of care topics, consumers will now be able to get a better picture of the quality of care delivered at their local hospitals.

Process of care measures are measures that show, in percentage form or as a rate, whether or not a health care provider gives recommended care; that is, the treatment known to give the best results for most patients with a particular condition.

Outcome measures are measures designed to reflect the results of care, rather than whether or not a specific treatment or intervention was performed.

Patient experience of care is measures by a national, standardized survey of hospital patients about their experiences during a recent inpatient hospital stay.  This is also referred to as HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems).