Choosing the Right Hospital
If you're going to get sick, get sick in Ohio. Or Florida. Pennsylvania is a good place to get sick too.
Each of these states has seven or more hospitals that are ranked among the 50 best hospitals in the U.S. And if you live in, say, Maryland or Indiana or Georgia, it might be worth the trip to a neighboring state for major medical care.
Why? Because you actually have a much better chance of leaving those hospitals alive.
Star power
"The fact is, patients are twice as likely to die at low- rated hospitals than at highly rated hospitals for the same diagnoses and procedures."
The quote is from Rick May, M.D., one of the authors of the annual Hospital Quality in America study conducted by HealthGrades. This independent organization has been keeping close tabs on the medical community for more than a decade.
The 12th annual HQA study assessed about 40 million Medicare hospitalization records, tracking mortality trends and complication rates from 2006 through 2008.
In addition to the list of America's 50 best hospitals, the study results offer patients a way to scrutinize each individual hospital. For instance, a random search reveals that here in Baltimore, MD, there's only one hospital that gets a five-star ("best") rating for hip replacement. Seven local hospitals get three stars (an "as expected" rating). Three are rated with one star ("poor").
If my doctor recommended a hip replacement, I know where I'd want to go!
And it gets even more critical if the procedure is a heart bypass or G.I. surgery. Then the information might save your life.
Complications abounding
The HQA study specifically scrutinized 17 medical procedures, including the three mentioned above, and others, such as stroke, pneumonia, plaque removal from the carotid artery, and obstetrics.
For all of these procedures, chances of complications were found to be 80 percent higher in one-star hospitals compared to five-star hospitals.
Other results:
Over the three years of the study, nearly a quarter million lives might have been saved if all hospitals operated at a five-star level Nearly 60 percent of the potentially preventable deaths were in four categories: pneumonia, heart failure, respiratory failure, and sepsis In the past three annual HQA studies, Ohio and Florida have dominated, with the highest percentage of hospitals in the top 15 percent.
In addition to detailed hospital ratings, healthgrades.com also provides ratings for doctors and nursing homes. They don't, however, provide shuttle service to Ohio or Florida.
About the author

Jenny Thompson is the Director of the Health Sciences Institute and editor of the HSI e-Alert. Through HSI, she and her team uncover important health information and expose ridiculous health misinformation, most notably through the HSI e-Alert.
Visit www.hsionline.com to sign up for the free HSI e-Alert.
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Comments
JP Wilson
Dear Senators and Representatives,
A Solution for Funding Health Care for Everyone.
Budget Neutral + No Entitlements
Not Government Run, but Government Paid. Health Decisions made by Doctors and Patients. Everyone Covered. No Denials. Everyone Pays.
This plan does not require health insurance by businesses, or individuals.
Example: Cost of a gallon of milk = 3.00. Your payment towards health care = 3 cents.
On the other hand if health insurance is purchased from an insurance company, then the cost would be 300.00 per month or more. That’s = 3600.00 per year + deductibles + co-pays + bureaucracy + denials, etc.
The Solution:
1. Institute a 1% national sales tax ear marked for health care only.
a. No more health insurance premiums for anyone, businesses or individuals.
b. No more duplication of services, overly compensated insurance co. executives and
bonuses.
c. No more confusing complicated
plans/supplements/options/exchanges/triggers/parts a, b, c, d, etc.
d. No more packed emergency rooms.
2. Doctors/Hospitals simply submit their bills and get paid.
a. Bills are processed by IRS or former insurance companies.
b. Doctors are not told what to charge.
c. Costs are controlled by the elimination of excessive profits and duplication.
d. Costs Guidelines are published by the use of "Should Cost Studies" and updated
yearly.
e. Cost guidelines are not enforceable by law.
f. Costs are controlled by peer pressure of other doctors, media, should cost studies,
and jawboning.
3. Everyone pays based upon their rate of consumption, from a quart of beer at a
convenience store, to the purchase of a BMW or Yacht.
a. No class warfare pitting one group against another.
b. Everyone has a stake in their health and pays their share.
4. No one would have to be without health care.
a. Everyone would have "The Same Plan".
b. No freeloaders.
c. More than budget neutral, it would be a budget multiplier. Tourist and illegals
would be contributing by their purchases.
**Reply Requested--Please tell me if you believe persons living in this country can't afford
1% paid incrementally through purchases verses paying thousands per year to insurance companies, padding the pockets of executives with excessive profits, and their employed doctors/lawyers, whose salaries’ and time could be going towards health care, instead of the attendant bureaucracy of doling out health care and denial letters.
Shifting funding to the rich or business owners is not the answer. They are the exact group that provides jobs to us all. Let's let everyone pay their own bit and give them a feeling of having a stake in their health care rather than making them dependant. 3 cents on a quart of milk will add up if everyone pays.
The only responsibility the government should have is doing the "Should Cost Studies," publishing the subsequent guidelines, collecting the tax money, and paying the bills. We don't need any laws that pit one group against another, that tell doctors what to charge, or force individual citizens to buy insurance with the associated waste of duplication and excessive profits. The best policy is to keep it simple. That will go a long way towards preventing gaming of the system. Complex laws, rules, plans, exchanges, triggers, and parts are just mechanisms to frustrate, control the people, build bureaucracy, and provide avenues for fraud.
Sincerely,
JP Wilson
jpw46@yahoo.com
A former Physician's Assistant
Hello,
What a beautiful and very true article you wrote with the exception of two things: First and foremost - impeach OBAMA, I have NEVER seen a President that cannot come up with a health plan, how is he supposed to run this country? ( I never give up, so therefore may I add he can be impeached, why all the fuss? ) Secondly, I know who can pay for a top level plan for ALL, just line up the BANK CEO's and the Insurance COMPANY CEO'S, who KNOWINGLY have had their "vacuum cleaners" into everyone's bank accounts for too many years. Also never trust the goverment, they allowed them to charge whatever high interest rate they choose! Think I am kidding? I wish I was. Maybe you already know this, but incase not watch for a show on TV, his name is Kevin Trudeau who was working with low life like that. No, I never beleive everything I see, here or read but wow, it is true. The difference is Kevin had a heart. He left the big fat cats because he has a heart. Now he exposes pharmaceutical companies, banks and the like so the average person knows as many do not. Caution: if you buy his book, you will be very angry to know the real truth.
I think Dr. Campbell Douglass is awesome to say the least. I have been reading his "Daily Dose" newsletter for over a year and a half. Good for him exposing the things he did. I was a Physician's Assistant for 27 years. I watched many things over the years and had my "theories" which I thought could be actual fact. God Bless Dr. Campbell Douglass, what do you know, thanks to him my theories have proven it was fact all along. For once in my life, I quit that job the very next day. Never will I ever write another prescription for crap that only hurts people. I knew that the Pharmaceutical Companies did not have our best interests at heart, that it was all about the money. So many people have died thanks to them! So have certain members of my family before I knew the truth. Insurance companies have killed too many of MY patients, by denying them of the amount of chemo and radiation treatments they truly need for starters. There is another way to completely cure cancer. Thank God I knew and I told my own cousin who "they gave only 3 months" to. I told him what I knew, is that why he is fine and cancer free today? You bet!
Did you know a cure for cancer was found here in 1972 in the what used to be called the good old U.S.A.? Of course those rotten pharmaceutical companies coud not make money on something all natural so they shelved it. Heaven forbid the Empire of chemo and radiation should fall. Well, if I was President (not that I would ever want to be) - wow wouldn't the pharmaceutical empire crumble and fall, (think about it, every empire does), so would the horrid insurance companies who already dictate in my state who can have insurance and who can not. As Dr. Douglass said "You better not have anything wrong with you", I just read that tonight. It must not have hit his state yet. It is already in effect in my state. How is it that they can lie so much? Now they are going against our Consitutional Rights which do say "We the People". I say we the people should fight back, my question is who wants to join me? I have seven doctors who back me up, it's all I need is people who are intelligent such as yourself to join my personal crusade, why not? I was the one who thought up the idea. If you are not a doctor then guess what? A group of doctors has more power than you may know. If you would like to join us, then please do e-mail me back, thank you. No you do not need to be in the medical field. By the way, an amazing thing happened, I was able to e-mail Dr. Douglass and even though he is speading the word on his own, I was thrilled to hear him say he would join my crusade, that made my day! I only ask people like you who are intelligent, who do not beleive everything they hear, who do not lie and can think out of the box. If you e-mail me back, I would be happy to hear from you, if you do not at least you know. Thank you for your article, again it was great! When insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies killed off a few in my family and 27 of my patients as well, it's time for a change.
On a side note: why the fuss about the financial deficit? Between the government, the lieing heads of the military, the bank ceo's and the insurance company ceo's, round them all up, figure out how many there are and divide the huge financial deficit and let them pay. (Like they did not see it coming, another lie!) That should be "We the people" said that's the way it is. Of course you do not have to be in the medical field to join, best part it is free, what in life is?
This group is and it gets larger every day. Want to make a difference? If so please do e-mail me back and if anyone else happens to read this and feels the same way, please do e-mail me back. This is not a scam, some recently created idea, some lie. I detest that with a passion. Even though I have my own doctors who back me up, so does Dr. Campbell Douglass and God Bless a doctor that really tells it the way it is. Incidentally, I choose a peaceful life, however I will fight for the cause. Sure if anyone else other than the intended recipient of this e-mail writes me a hate mail, then consider yourself ignorant and please do get an education. If someone like that wants to e-mail me, go ahead, I look forward to that as well, rest assured I will e-mail you back but you won't like it so why bother? However, if someone else does read this and wants to join the cause then please do e-mail me, thank you. For those who want to help me, please do e-mail me back and thank you! Rest assured, we WILL win, we have already changed a few so called "laws" with many more to go. Please do e-mail me back if interested.
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