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The Internet has made it easier to become an educated consumer. At the touch of a button, you can find reviews of thousands of products and services 鈥� even health services 鈥� from consumer groups and fellow customers. It鈥檚 no surprise that many people count on these reviews and rankings before visiting a hospital.

For the past 25 years, US News and World Report has been listing the 鈥渂est hospitals鈥� in the United States. In a , the magazine鈥檚 top health analysts describe how they are expanding and changing the way they rate hospitals.

Common procedures, conditions will be included

Since 1990, US News has analyzed information from about 2,000 large hospitals in the United States and ranked the top 50 in each of 16 different specialties. 鈥淭he program is designed for people with complex clinical needs who can鈥檛 find treatment at their community hospitals, and are looking to go elsewhere,鈥� Ben Harder, chief of health analysis for US News and World Report, told me. In fact, the rankings 鈥渁re not designed for use by patients in need of typical inpatient care,鈥� he and coauthor Avery Comarow write in JAMA.

That鈥檚 changing. The US News team has spent more than a year analyzing more than 5 million patient records regarding more than a dozen common procedures and medical conditions from more than 4,300 hospitals. Ratings for five of these . They are:

• hip replacement
• knee replacement
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• congestive heart failure
• coronary artery bypass surgery.

鈥淲e want to help people make meaningful decisions about the hospitals in their community,鈥� says Harder.

The new ratings use only performance measures such as patient safety, technology, and survival rates after admission. The data are culled from various sources, such as reports from Medicare, the American Hospital Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Unlike other US News rankings, the new ratings do not include surveys of doctors.

Weighing the information

Should you rely purely on hospital rankings from US News or anyone else when deciding where to go for treatment? 鈥淭hese rankings can help, but they鈥檙e mostly limited to data, and are not giving you the whole picture,鈥� says Dr. Thomas Lee, a Harvard cardiologist and founding editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. 鈥淗ospital rankings are height and weight. Patient surveys are emotional intelligence.鈥�

Dr. Lee is admittedly biased, since he鈥檚 also the chief medical officer at , a national firm that uses extensive surveys, especially patient satisfaction surveys, to help hospitals and other health care providers improve services. 鈥淲hat people really want is peace of mind, and you won鈥檛 get that from statistics.鈥�

He points to many hospital websites that now post patient comments and reviews about every doctor, such as .

鈥淪imply having that kind of information gives a picture of what doctors are really like,鈥� says Dr. Lee. 鈥淚n fact, we notice that doctors with more comments are getting more referrals. As a doctor, I can tell you that having comments posted about you makes you better, because you know you鈥檙e being evaluated.鈥�

Choosing your hospital

With so much information available, it may feel overwhelming to dig through it when it鈥檚 time to select a hospital. Dr. Lee believes the most effective way to start is by talking to your doctor. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it works well when patients try to start with a blank slate and pick the best place in the country. Ultimately, I think the coordination of care is so important that your physician鈥檚 recommendation of where to go and who to seek matters. You want someone who will work with your physician,鈥� he explains.

His advice is to get your doctor鈥檚 recommendation first, and then look at reviews and rankings. And isn鈥檛 the only group offering information. Other hospital rankings include:

• (available to subscribers only)
• .

It鈥檚 also important to pay attention to how a doctor or an institution takes care of your particular ailment. Finding answers to these questions can help:

• Does the hospital provide the best diagnostic testing and treatment for your condition?
• Are any teaching hospitals conducting research on your condition?
• Which hospital does the highest volume of the procedure you need?
• How many times per month is the doctor performing the procedure you need?

鈥淎nd remember,鈥� says Dr. Lee, 鈥渏ust because a hospital is famous for research and Nobel prizes doesn鈥檛 mean it will do a great job on the specific problem you have.鈥� In other words, it鈥檚 only by using all of the information available that you鈥檒l have a more accurate picture of what you can expect. And that will take you from being an educated consumer to an educated and confident patient.