How to Choose a Hospital

With over 2,200 hospitals in the United States, there's a good chance you live within driving distance of several hospitals, or even dozens if you live in a densely populated area. With such a wide range of choices, how can you choose the best hospital for your condition? Follow these tips to help make the right choice.

1.) Do your research beforehand

One of the best, and worst, things about choosing a hospital in the United States is the amount of information that is available to you. Federal regulations set by the Department of Health and Human Services require every hospital to make vital statistics about patient satisfaction, success of procedures, hospital policies, and more freely available to the public.

Hundreds of pages of data is available on every hospital, which can lead to information overload while trying to compare your options. HospitalFinder's database allows you to view the most pertinent pieces of information individually, including condition-specific information. and patient feedback. You can use HospitalFinder's HospitalScore grade of F through A+, which is based on overall patient reviews of the hospital, as a base measure for your comparisons.

2.) Consider mortality and readmission rates

The most important pieces of information to consider when reviewing a hospital are the survival and readmission rates applicable to the condition you need treated. Common treatment statistics can be found for heart attack and heart failure cases, pnemonia cases, and surgical operations for all American hospitals. HospitalFinder's reports allow you to easily compare any hospital's mortality or readmission rates to state and national averages.

3.) Check reviews of the hospital's facilities and staff

In addition to condition-specific statistics, it's important to consider the overall patient experience and the quality of the staff and facilities. Quality review surveys are available for all hospitals, and provide patient feedback information on the quality and cleanliness of the hospital's facilities, the quality of the doctors and nurses, and more.

4.) Consider traveling to the best hospital

Often, the best hospital for your condition may be in another city or even another state. After considering all of the statistics carefully, you may want to consider traveling to another location in order to ensure that you get the best hospital treatment available to you.

5.) Get a doctor's opinion

Your physician or another trusted medical professional may be able to offer you advice and a recommendation on which hospital(s) are the best fit for your needs. Ask them for further information about the doctors and treatments available, and use their knowledge and experience to ensure you make the best choice.