People seeking information about how patients perceive the care they received at a particular hospital can now find this information on The Joint Commission's Quality Check Web site, http://www.qualitycheck.org.

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS's) Hospital Compare Web site is posted on Quality Check beginning January 2009. This information will be updated quarterly.

Patient ratings of communication with doctors, communication with nurses, responsiveness of hospital staff, cleanliness and quietness of the hospital, pain management, communication about medications, and discharge information are the sources of HCAHPS information. In addition to information about patient satisfaction, Quality Check also includes data from CMS on 30-day mortality rates for myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia.

Thousands of people use Quality Check each month to find information about the more than 15,000 accredited healthcare organizations that have earned The Joint Commission "Gold Seal of Approval." Quality Check provides details about an organization's accreditation status, efforts to prevent medical mistakes by complying with National Patient Safety Goals, and comparison information about how hospitals comply with National Quality Improvement Goals, such as giving myocardial infarction patients aspirin within a specified time frame.

For more information on the Joint Commission, visit the Web site at http://www.jointcommission.org.