Healthy Outlook Blog

Measuring Hospital Quality

By Healthymagination Team | Posted June 11 2010

Children, Data Visualization, Hospitals, Studies

The relative health and quality of our hospitals is a difficult thing to quantify. With so many variables to consider, there’s no simple way to chart it. But this new visualization takes 30 of the most common procedures and presents them in an easy-to-digest format.

The data comes from the Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, and draws from a seven-year study of 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Each square represents one of 30 measures in five categories: surgery, pneumonia, heart attack, heart failure and children’s asthma. The darker the color, the better the performance on that particular measure.

You can use the drop down menu to explore how the hospitals in your state are performing and click on each hospital to learn more. Roll over the grid to read more about each measure or assess each institution as a whole.

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