Quality Reports

One important way to learn about hospital quality is to look at hospital report cards developed by States and consumer groups. A recent study about such reports found that besides helping consumers make informed choices, they also encourage hospitals to improve their quality of care. This is a very good reason to look for and use consumer information about hospitals.

Consumer groups publish guides to hospitals and other health care choices in various cities. Find out what kind of information is available where you live by calling your State department of health, health care council, or hospital association. Also, ask your doctor what he or she thinks about the hospital.

The California HealthCare Foundation publishes ratings on more than 240 hospitals in California, representing over 86% of acute care hospital admissions in the state. Hospitals on this site are rated on quality and timeliness of care for several conditions, as well as patient experience with overall, medical, surgical, and maternity care, and adherence to recommended patient safety practices.

Risk Adjustment

When reviewing hospital ratings and published data, it is important to consider whether or not the performance has been adjusted for risk or severity. That means the complexity of the patients cared for is factored in to the ratings. This is especially important when evaluating an academic medical center, like UC San Diego Medical Center, that often cares for the sickest and most complex patients in the region. Many medical centers in the area send their most difficult cases to us, like burns, transplants and patients with unusual conditions. Ratings that do not factor in this additional risk, may be misleading.

Quality Office
UCSD Medical Center
200 West Arbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 543-6475