BNA (paid subscription required) reported this week on a study done by researchers at UCLA’a medical school (published in Archives of Surgery) comparing hospital quality data on six publicly available websites. And the news was not good. According to the report for three of the private websites, “the searches demonstrated significant inconsistencies. For example, for colon removal, one hospital was ranked best by two sites, but worst by the other site, and the hospital ranked best on that site was ranked worst on another.”

In addition to the three unnamed private websites, the researchers studied hospital ratings on CMS Hospital Compare, the Joint Commission’s Quality Check, and the Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Quality and Safety Survey Results. Timeliness, methods and incomplete data were said to account for some of the differences.

I think we should expect a lot more of this kind shake out of quality data over the next decade or so until professional consensus, market place pressure and better methodological governance takes better hold. But this kind of disparity in the numbers will lead to more patient confusion and feed a lack of trust in all quality data.

I don’t know about you, but I’d be a little nervous if I was the one facing colon surgery and looking at these findings.