This report examines 2009 participation and quality measure results for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare public reporting database for hospital quality measures. The current Hospital Compare quality measures include inpatient process of care measures that reflect recommended treatments for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care improvement, and children’s asthma care; outpatient AMI/chest pain and surgical process of care measures; Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey results; and hospital 30 day risk-adjusted mortality and readmission rates for AMI, heart failure, and pneumonia calculated by CMS using Medicare claims data. This updates previous national reports on Hospital Compare results for CAHs.

The Flex Monitoring Team also produces state-specific reports with more detailed results.

For 2009, about 71% of CAHs submitted data on at least one inpatient measure to Hospital Compare, a slight uptick from the prior year (70%). CAHs remain more likely to report data on pneumonia and heart failure measures than on AMI and surgical infection prevention measures.