title: The annual guide to "America's best hospitals". Evidence of influence among health care leaders.
abstract: To determine health care leaders' opinions about a prominent guide to hospital quality, we surveyed 82 chief executive officers (CEOs) and 80 chiefs of staff of hospitals listed in the 1994 edition of the guide and 50 directors of employer based coalitions. Most of the CEOs (87%) and chiefs of staff (86%) said the guide was used in advertising. More than three quarters of the CEOs, chiefs of staff, and coalition directors who were familiar with the guide thought it was accurate, and most indicated that key constituencies (e.g., physicians, corporate managers) were aware of the guide. Our results demonstrate the likely influence of one prominent guide to health care quality and highlight the need for formal independent assessment of such guides.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Care Research, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Chren
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lasek
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Landefeld
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016542:Chief Executive Officers, Hospital; D003625:Data Collection; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008486:Physician Executives; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States