Hospital Compare is a website that is developed in a consumer-oriented design that contains information on how well hospitals provided healthcare services to their patients. The website has information for over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals. What is more, the website allows users to select different hospitals and compare their services. For this reason, the website can be essential to users who need to know the best healthcare facilities within their region ( Medicare.gov, 2020) . On the other hand, the information retrieved through the website forms the basis of challenges facing underperforming hospitals.
The Hospital Compare website is maintained by Medicare, a United States national healthcare insurance program. Medicare provides information on different hospitals that are categorized in terms of general information, overall hospital rating, Survey of patients’ experiences, timely & effective care, complications & deaths, unplanned hospital visits, psychiatric unit services, and payment & value of care. The website was developed through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other agencies representing consumers, accrediting organizations, doctors, hospitals, employers, and federal agencies.
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Patient’s Experience
A patient’s experience is collected by gathering information on the perspectives on consumers in a hospital. The data collection process is undertaken using a survey instrument and data collection methodology facilitated by the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Survey. The HCAHPS survey was developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) together with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). CMS has the responsibility of cleaning, adjusting, analyzing, and reporting the collected data. The HCAHPS survey is comprised of 29 questions that include 19 critical aspects of the hospital experience, 3 screening questions, and 7 questions that are used to adjust the sample of patients involved in the survey for analytical purposes ( HCAHPS, 2020) .
The HCAHPS survey has six composite topics that include nurse communication, doctor communication, the responsiveness of hospital staff, communication about medicines, discharge information, and care transition. The HCAHPS survey is administered randomly to a sample of adult patients with diverse medical conditions. The chosen sample is taken from patients who have been discharged after 48 hours. However, the survey does not only select Medicare beneficiaries. Data is collected through mail, telephone, a mix of mail and telephone, or through active Interactive Voice Response (IVR) ( HCAHPS, 2020) . Once collected, it is taken over by CMS for analysis and presentation.
Cambridge Health Alliance Results
The Hospital Compare website allowed me to search for information regarding the Cambridge Health Alliance hospital in Massachusetts. The data provided by the website regarding the hospital performance is conveyed on a quarterly basis owing to the fact that it is collected in January, April, July, and October. In this report, we presented the data collected between 1 st April 2018 and 31 st March 2019. The results are obtained from ten different surveys that collected qualitative data regarding the experiences of patients at the hospital. The response rates of these surveys vary from one item to another but an average of 13% was notable ( Medicare.gov, 2020) . This response rate is normal in light of the fact that it shows a significant figure that can be used to form the basis of data analysis. What is more, the fact that the data collection period is on a quarter-annual basis, the response rate is significant and essential for the survey’s outcomes.
As demonstrated by the data on the Hospital Compare website, the Cambridge Health Alliance hospital is in par with other state and national healthcare facilities. For example, 77% of patients in the Cambridge Health Alliance hospital reported that their nurses "Always" communicated well. The percentage is slightly lower than 81%, which is Massachusetts and national average. Similarly, 80% of patients indicated that their doctors "Always" communicated well. The figure has no disparities in national and state levels since it was also 80% for Massachusetts and 82% for national averages ( Medicare.gov, 2020) . These averages are surprising because many healthcare providers in the United States are striving to maintain high standards in terms of service quality.
The Cambridge Health Alliance hospital performed poorly in terms of time taken to provide help to patients as illustrated by 59% of patients who indicated that they "Always" received help as soon as they wanted. This figure is lower compared to the 65% Massachusetts average and 70% national average. On the other hand, only 53% of patients reported that the area around their room was "Always" quiet at night as compared to 62% national average. The figures show poor performance in terms of noise management. From another point of view, it was surprising to learn that only 61% of staff "Always" explained about medicines before giving it to patients ( Medicare.gov, 2020) . The figure is not far from the state average (64%) and the national average (66%) but it is far from ideal. The same statistics could be said of 76% of patients that reported that their room and bathroom were "Always" clean a figure that is similar to the national average.
Improvement Strategies
The Cambridge Health Alliance hospital has not performed poorly in comparison to the national average, but there is the need to improve how doctors and nurses communicate. The hospital should create a communication system that is more patient-focused. The survey also elucidates a failure to provide patients with information regarding medications. This aspect can be fixed by creating awareness among nurses and doctors on the essence of providing medication information prior to starting a treatment regimen. In terms of clean rooms and quiet environments especially at night, there is a need to revise environmental policies.
References
HCAHPS (2020). Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://hcahpsonline.org/en/
Medicare.gov (2020). Hospital Compare. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/profile.html#profTab=1&ID=220011&Distn=3.2&dist=25&loc=BOSTON%2C%20MA&lat=42.3584308&lng=-71.0597732
