Health & Living

Choosing The Right Hospital

When selecting a hospital, make sure it is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

• Identify its rating by state or consumer groups; choose the highest rating possible.
• Find out if your physician has privileges at your hospital of choice if that is something of interest to you.
• Pick a location that is covered by your health plan.
• Determine whether the facility has had prior success with your condition.
• Ask if the hospital constantly monitors and works to improve its quality of care.

• General - Offers full range of services for most common medical conditions.
• Specialized - Concentration of services for a particular disease or condition (e.g., cancer) or type of patient (e.g., children).
• Teaching/Research - Trains doctors and other health professionals and conducts research in addition to treating patients. Usually affiliated with a medical school.
• Nonprofit - Community facility operated by religious group or other voluntary agency.
• Profit - Commercial or proprietary facility owned by a corporation or a group of physicians.