New Print Advertising Campaign Highlights Hospital Compare Website

A new advertising campaign, created to increase awareness and informed decision making about health care choices, is being released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Placed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services in the May 21 edition of 58 newspapers, the ads will focus on health care information and quality by promoting the HHS’ Hospital Compare website.  The Hospital Compare site, found at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, allows users to compare hospitals in terms of patient experiences and quality of care.  The site deals with ten specific components, using 26 quality measures, of patient experience, like communication, promptness of help, and an overall rating. 

The advertising campaign will highlight the scores of two specific measures of quality and patient satisfaction from the Hospital Compare site, in newspaper area-specific hospitals.  The ads should encourage people to use the technology available to them, in order to help them make more informed choices in their own health care decisions.  

The campaign includes information about the percentage of patients at each hospital who report receiving help when first requested, the percentage of patients at each hospital given antibiotics an hour before surgery (according to the hospitals), and the state average for both measures.  The ads, in combination with the website being promoted, should not only help people increase their access to clear health care information, but also, at the same time, urge hospitals to improve their patient care.