Data Sources

Several data sources were used to measure hospitals on each of the four metrics, including:

• Quality of its care: Reported by CMS' Core Measures Program.
• Efficiency of its care and what prices it actually charges: Reported by hospital filings with CMS.
• Experience of its patients: Reported in the HCAHPS submissions to CMS.
• Reputation of a hospital: Reported in the National Research Healthcare Market Guide®.

Other data sources include: The Joint Commission, The Leapfrog Group, Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment Systems (OPPS) and Medicare Severity - Diagnosis Related Groups MS-DRGs.