The State of Illinois Department of Health has an updated Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care Website. The Consumer Guide to Health Care has information on inpatient and outpatient data such as volume of cases, average charges, mortality rates, complications and hospital-associated infections, with updated information on Surgical Care Improvement Project measures; nurse staffing; patient satisfaction, and charges for hospitals and ambulatory treatment centers.

According to the Department of Health website, the Hospital Report Card Act requires all Illinois hospitals to report nurse staffing, infection prevention measures and hospital-acquired infections data to the department. New information on the site includes 2009 central line-associated blood stream infection data; updated state hospital designations; emergency medical systems for children designations; hospital emergency department volume and hours on bypass; and risk adjusted data for mortality and patient safety.

When a consumer clicks on the website, at www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov, the consumer can choose to search for a facility by county, zip code or facility name, or click on an interactive map of state regions. Upon finding a particular facility, the consumer can browse the information on ownership, profit status and number of beds in the facility. Tabs allow the consumer to find further information on Quality, Safety, Satisfaction, Services, and Staffing/Beds.
In Quality, a consumer can see measures on indicators regarding how often the hospitals use recommended treatments for certain conditions, such as heart attack, pneumonia and heart failure, broken down by type of treatment and rate. For Safety, the indicators measure improvements including proper medications given for surgery (i.e., antibiotics), health care associated infections (for example, central line-associated bloodstream infections in Medical/Surgical ICUs) and other issues such as unexpected deaths and accidental punctures and lacerations. In Satisfaction, the site presents results of patient surveys on communication, cleanliness, receiving help or explanation. Services outlines the number of patients visiting a facility for certain conditions or procedures, the average length of stay and charge. Finally, Staffing/Beds shows nurse staffing hours and number of beds for different departments.

Department Commissioner Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold stated about the website, "To help Illinoisans make better decisions about their choice of hospital or health care provider, they need information about the quality of care offered by these facilities. The Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care Website allows consumers to find average costs for specific medical procedures, nurse staffing levels at hospitals and general quality of care information."

The Director's remarks can be accessed at: http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/press10/4.12.10HospRptCard.htm

The website is www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov

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