HealthLocator , a new, free digital tool, launches today to help patients and families find hospitals that consistently provide high-quality care.
HealthLocator gathers national quality data into a single, easy-to-navigate tool that allows users to search by city, specialty, or hospital. With just a few clicks, people can compare hospitals based on performance and make more informed choices about their care.
"HealthLocator brings together existing external national quality data into one clear, trusted source to help people select a high-quality hospital for themselves or a loved one," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic.
For more than a decade, Mayo Clinic has used a combination of publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on clinical quality, hospital patient safety and associated infection metrics, and patient experience to inform and advance its own improvement initiatives. These same evidence-based measures are used to rate more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals featured in HealthLocator.
"HealthLocator offers a clear, evidence-based view of hospital quality that aligns with Mayo Clinic's primary value: the needs of the patient come first," says Sean Dowdy, M.D., Mayo Clinic's chief value officer. "By helping people make informed healthcare decisions, we're improving lives."
More information about HealthLocator's methodology is available in New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst.
Created for patients by those who serve them, HealthLocator is offered as a free public service. Users do not need to create an account, and there are no subscriptions.
