Hospital Rating Organizations’ Quality and Patient Safety Scores: Analysis of Result Discrepancies

Background

In the USA, multiple organizations rate hospitals based on quality and patient safety data, but few studies have analyzed and compared the rating results.

Objective

Compare the results of different US hospital-rating organizations.

Design

Observational data analysis of US acute care hospital ratings.

Participants

Four rating organizations: Hospital Compare® (HC), Healthgrades® (HG), The Leapfrog Group® (Leapfrog), and US News and World Report® (USN).

Main Measures

We analyzed the level of concordance (similar ranking), discordance (difference of 1 or more rankings), and severe discordance (difference of two or more rankings), as well as differences and correlations between the scores.

Key Results

From Feb 1 to Oct 3, 2023, we analyzed data from 2,384 hospitals. In Leapfrog, there were 688 hospitals (29%) with Grade A, 652 (27.3%) with B, 885 (37.1%) with C, 153 (6.4%) with D, and 6 (0.3%) with F. For HC, 333 hospitals (14%) had five stars, 676 (28.4%) four, 695 (29.2%) three, 502 (21.4%) two, and 171 (7.2%) one-star. In ratings between HC and Leapfrog, discordance was 70%, and severe discordance was 25.1%. USN ranked 469 hospitals (19.7%). Within the USN-ranked hospital group, there was a 62% discordance and 19.8% severe discordance between HC and Leapfrog. The analysis of orthopedic procedures from HG and USN showed discordance ranging from 48 to 61.2%.

Conclusion

The rating organizations’ reported metrics were highly discordant. A hospital's ranking by one organization frequently did not correspond to a similar ranking by another. The methodology and included timeline and patient population can help explain the differences. However, the discordant ratings may confuse patients and customers.