Healthgrades

Healthgrades is an American company that provides information about physicians, hospitals and health care providers. Healthgrades has compiled information on over 3 million U.S. health care providers. The company was founded by Kerry Hicks and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Overview

Healthgrades operates a suite of free comprehensive online databases of doctors, hospitals, and health care providers. The company provides ratings and profiles for every listed provider, which includes experience, sanctions, malpractice claims, and patient satisfaction ratings. Healthgrades' mission is to help people find the right doctor and the right hospital, for the right care.

History

Healthgrades was founded in 1998 by Kerry Hicks, who served as the company's CEO until 2013. The company was initially a healthcare ratings organization, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals and healthcare providers. In 2010, Healthgrades merged with CPM Marketing Group, a provider of customer relationship management solutions for health care organizations. The merger expanded Healthgrades' services to include marketing and communications solutions for healthcare providers.

Services

Healthgrades provides a number of services to consumers and healthcare providers. These include:

• Doctor Ratings and Profiles: Healthgrades provides detailed profiles and ratings for over 3 million healthcare providers in the U.S. These profiles include information on the provider's experience, education, board certifications, and patient satisfaction ratings.

• Hospital Ratings and Profiles: Healthgrades rates hospitals on a number of factors, including clinical outcomes, patient safety, and patient experience. The company also provides detailed profiles of each hospital, including information on the hospital's services, specialties, and quality measures.

• Healthcare Provider Marketing Solutions: Healthgrades provides marketing and communications solutions to healthcare providers. These services include customer relationship management, online scheduling, and digital marketing solutions.

Criticism

Healthgrades has been criticized for its rating system, with some arguing that it is not transparent and can be misleading. Critics argue that the ratings are based on limited data and do not take into account important factors such as the complexity of a patient's condition or the quality of the hospital's nursing staff.

See also

• Patient safety
• Healthcare in the United States
• Healthcare quality