Don’t trust a hospital’s advertisements

Most people do not realize how important it is to take time choosing a hospital; sadly, good information about quality and safety is hard to come by, and rankings tend to be misleading. Hospitals that advertise are no better than hospitals that do not advertise, writes John Gever for MedPage Today. But, their ads generate more business for them, while driving up the cost of care.

Quality measures show no meaningful difference between hospitals that promote themselves and those that do not. They have similar death rates, similar readmission rates, and similar consumer satisfaction rates, says Chima Ndumele, MPH, PhD, of Yale School of Medicine. The hospitals that advertise are simply likely to be in better financial shape.

The advertising does not help people make a better choice of hospitals. Rather, it leads them to frequent the hospitals with excess resources and could be hurting community hospitals and safety net hospitals with far fewer resources. Those hospitals tend to treat more patients who are low-income and at risk.

It’s hard to believe that there could ever be a truly competitive health care market that helps people make smart hospital choices. But, ads are certainly not a solution to getting people better hospital care.

Here’s more from Just Care:

• Profit motive among hospitals and group practices poses huge risk to patients
• More hospitals providing care at home
• Are hospitals posting their prices, as required?
• If you’re making a Medicare choice, don’t trust the insurance agent
• Hospital care: Three major inequities