US hospital rating systems rarely agree, study finds

Four influential rating systems that rank US hospitals use such different criteria and methods that they rarely agree, potentially confusing consumers and making it difficult for hospitals trying to use the ratings to improve the quality of their care, a new study concludes.

The researchers looked at the criteria, methods, and rating results of four well known hospital rating systems: the US News “Best Hospitals” list, HealthGrades, the Leapfrog Group, and Consumer Reports.

J Matthew Austin, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality in Baltimore, Maryland, was the lead author of the paper, which …