Relationship Between Medicare’s Hospital Compare Performance Measures and Mortality Rates

THE quality of health care in the UnitedStates is uneven and often inadequate. 1,2In the outpatient setting, quality of care varies across individuals depending on age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. 3 Overall, only half of US individuals receive recommended care. 1 In hospitals, quality of care is also variable.Compliance with hospital performance measures varies not only across US hospitals but also across regions, conditions, and performance measures. 4because it is assumed that measuring quality of care is a key component in improving care, quality measurement is playing an increasingly prominent role in quality improvement.][16] These efforts are designed to provide an incentive to improve the quality of the care delivered and to influence consumer choice of providers. 17,18][21] Recently, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), along with other health care organiza-See also p 2731.