CMS to run nationwide newspaper ads comparing hospitals

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to run full-page newspaper ads disclosing the patient satisfaction rates of more than 2,500 hospitals across the United States. The ads are based on information supplied voluntarily by the hospitals, and list the percentage of patients who said that they always got help when requested, the percentage of patients who were given antibiotics one hour before surgery, and the statewide averages for both. In October 2006 and June 2007, the data was collected from a random sample of patients 48 hours to 6 weeks after discharge.
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