Knowing where to find resources is the first step in choosing a good hospital. Aside from the overall rating, hospitals are often rated based on specific types of care (e.g. orthopedic, cancer, obstetrics, etc.) There are several lists that rate hospitals such as U.S. News.
The Leapfrog Group, www.leapfroggroup.org is a good resource and has a section for evaluating hospitals. The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for health care consumers and purchasers, using their collective influence to foster positive change in U.S. health care. Leapfrog is the nation’s premier advocate of transparency in health care—collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data to inform value-based purchasing and improved decision-making.
Many believe that a teaching hospital is preferable. There are only about 400 teaching hospitals in the country, making up only six percent of all hospitals. The number of major academic medical centers is even less, around 120. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows major teaching hospitals are, on average, excelling in a key factor—mortality. The study found that unadjusted 30-day mortality rates at major teaching hospitals were lower by 1.5 percentage points than those at nonteaching hospitals—8.1% compared with 9.6%—with the difference in adjusted rates between the two groups equating to saving one life for every 67 Medicare patients admitted.
Very helpful article