The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently drew criticism for releasing ratings of almost 4,000 hospitals nationwide. The hospital industry objected that the rankings were unfair and overly simplistic.
Buta recent “Thinking About Health” column for the Rural Health News Service says patients have a right to know what’s going on inside the hospitals they entrust with their lives. Trudy Lieberman noted that the ratings reveal a contradiction between the advertising campaigns of certain hospitals and the actual, scientifically measured quality of their care.
“Hospitals like to tell their communities about new cancer treatments or new children’s wings,” wrote Lieberman. She added, “Those of us who have written about hospitals know that smart patients need to look way beyond the nightly advertising on TV.”
