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Oregon Hospitals Roll Out Comparison Shopping Site For Patients

<p>Patients should be able to compare hospitals at new website: orhealthguide.org</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

CDC

Patients should be able to compare hospitals at new website: orhealthguide.org

 

Hospitals around Oregon have gotten together to create a new website where patients can more effectively comparison shop.

The Affordable Care Act means enormous volumes of health care data are online now. But it’s difficult to find and complicated for consumers.

To simplify the process, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has opened a new website.

Association spokeswoman Diane Waldo said people can find their local hospital and see how it compares on everything from patient experience to the average time spent in the emergency room.

“Over time, more data points will be added. Including information such as how many patients are seen in a year, how many babies are born in our facilities, operating margins and much more,” she said.

The website data come from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but some hospitals don’t report enough data in some categories to make a useful comparison.

Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Kristian Foden-Vencil is a reporter and producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He specializes in health care, business, politics, law and public safety.