Few Chicago-area hospitals shine in government's new patient star ratings - Chicago Tribune

 

he federal government has adopted a new patient satisfaction metric to rate the nation's hospitals, awarding each institution one to five stars after synthesizing the responses to consumer surveys.

In Illinois, the Chicago area stood out for having some of the lowest-rated hospitals — six received just one star — along with a handful of highly rated facilities that have focused on making hospital visits less unpleasant.

Of the 65 hospitals rated in Cook and the collar counties, just one received the top score of five stars: Midwestern Regional Medical Center, a cancer treatment center in Zion. Fourteen received four stars, according to Medicare data posted Thursday to the federal Hospital Compare site.

The searchable data base is available by clicking on the following:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-how-patients-rate-illinois-hospitals-20150416-htmlstory.html

The ratings are based on 11 facets of patients' hospital experiences as ranked in post-visit surveys, including how well doctors and nurses communicated, how well patients believed their pain was addressed and whether they would recommend the hospital to others.

Hospitals that performed well said their success came from listening to patients' complaints. They reduced wait times, encouraged patients to ask questions and resolved billing issues at bedside rather than during checkout. Some have taken less obvious steps; Midwestern Regional has a gym where patients and their families can exercise, as well as a Labradoodle named Tori that plays catch with patients.

Officials at low-ranking hospitals said a rating of one to five stars does not adequately capture the complexities of administering care, especially at facilities that see many low-income patients who often have chronic conditions.

 

"Rating hospitals is more complicated than judging a restaurant or hotel with star ratings," said William Dorsey, CEO of Jackson Park Hospital in Chicago, which received one star.

In assigning the ratings, Medicare compared hospitals against each other, essentially grading on a curve. The website notes that "a 1-star rating does not mean that you will receive poor care from a hospital" and that "we suggest that you use the star rating along with other quality information when making decisions about choosing a hospital."

Many in the hospital industry fear Medicare's five-star scale places too much weight on patient reviews, which are just one measure of hospital quality. Medicare also reports on other aspects of hospital care, such as how many patients died or contracted infections during their stay, but those factors are not yet associated with star ratings.

"Health care is fairly complex, and to try to capture the complexity of health care in one set of star ratings causes us to have pause," said Dr. Jay Bhatt, the Illinois Hospital Association's chief health officer. "We need to think about that in the context of other factors."

In Illinois overall, 13 of 147 rated hospitals received five stars, 62 received four stars, 50 got three stars and 16 got two stars….

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