A national effort is underway to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to you and your loved ones. As part of this effort, various accreditation organizations have been established to set standards for the way hospitals deliver care, and to monitor hospitals to ensure these standards are being met. 

The question these organizations seek to answer is: How often do hospitals provide treatments or utilize treatment methodology that is recommended by accreditation organizations? This is important because hospitals that provide the recommended care most or all of the time are more likely to produce positive results for patients.

Most accreditation organizations that measure the quality reputation of hospitals do so by gathering statistics and other data from the hospitals. Hospitals that follow treatment guidelines all or most of the time usually have better patient outcomes (end results).

Hospitals report data to accreditation organizations quarterly, annually, or every two to three years, depending on the organization. The data helps the accreditation organizations determine whether a hospital can keep its accredited status.

Why Does Quality Matter?
Organizations that Rate Quality
Understanding the Quality Data