Helping Employees Choose the Right Hospital:
A Toolkit to Facilitate Effective Communication
Introduction
Over 10 years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report, entitled To Err Is Human, which identified glaring gaps in the safety and quality of the care that patients receive in the nation's hospitals. Although the IOM report raised awareness of this issue, the unfortunate news is that today patients are actually less safe in hospitals than they were before. The 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report found that safety remains a significant problem in hospitals. Of the 33 hospital safety measures tracked for this report, only 12 (or 36%) improved at a rate greater than 5% per year.1
Part of the problem lies in where employees go when looking for information about which hospital to choose for their health care treatments. Many rely solely on their doctor's recommendations. When employees do seek additional information, they often turn to well-meaning family and friends, advertising and various health websites, which may or may not be maintained by an independent and respected organization or institution. As a result, the information employees receive from these sources may not necessarily be the most accurate. Basing important decisions on inaccurate information could mean that your employees end up receiving substandard care. Substandard care can translate into more complications, readmissions, injuries or even death, all of which can impact overall medical costs, productivity and employee well-being.
The challenge you face is convincing your employees that quality varies by hospital and that it is in their best interest to research the quality of care provided at particular hospitals.
The National Business Group on Health has developed this toolkit to help you understand the issues related to hospital quality and to help your employees navigate a reliable website called Hospital Compare. Hospital Compare is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is available to the public to assist them in selecting a hospital. The Business Group believes that Hospital Compare is one of the most reliable sources of information on hospital quality.
Toolkit Components
- What Is Quality? — Provides an overview of what quality is: doing the right thing-- at the right time-- in the right way-with the best possible results.
- A Guide to Choosing the Right Hospital — This employee guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the Hospital Compare website. It is written in an easy-to-read format to allow users to maximize the information they get from the website, including a Frequently Asked Questions section and links to other resources. It is designed to provide accurate information about how to choose a hospital and will be especially useful when employees or someone in their family need to find the best hospital to meet their medical needs.
- A Strategy for Distributing A Guide to Choosing the Right Hospital — This sample roll-out communication plan is designed to help you disseminate the information contained in the employee guide. The plan provides examples of the types of strategies you can consider implementing and an associated timeline.
- What Else Can Employers Do? — Additional steps employers can take to ensure that employees receive quality care.
- Background on Hospital Compare — Provides additional information about the Hospital Compare website.
- Frequently Asked Questions About Hospital Compare — Answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the Hospital Compare website and the information it houses.
- Additional Resources — Links to other reliable websites that provide information on hospital quality.
Related Business Group Resources
The following resources have valuable information related to this topic.
Funded by the National Business Group on Health, the toolkit was prepared by Molla S. Donaldson, DrPH (MSD Healthcare Consulting Group) and Rebekah E. Donaldson (Business Communications Group LLC), under the leadership of Helen Darling, President, and Karen Marlo, Director of Benchmarking & Analysis, National Business Group on Health.
1Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, National Healthcare Quality Report, 2009.
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