Hospital Quality
An upcoming hospital stay can be a scary thought. But it doesn’t have to be.
Find peace of mind with quality care
Did you know you can check the quality of a hospital for just about any type of care? Where you go is important to your health — and can give you peace of mind — like finding the right doctor.
We’ve pulled together some key sources for you to check hospital quality. Before you explore them, here are some important points to consider:
- Look at a variety of sources — they use different methods and have different ratings.
- Check ratings that are specific to your situation.
- Know that a hospital can excel in one area but not another.
- Review sources often because ratings can change over time.
You can always talk with your doctor about hospital quality, too. They may be able to treat you at more than one hospital. And because they know your health history, they can help you make an informed decision.
Start with Blue Distinction® Centers
Do you need treatment for one of these specialty care categories?
- Bariatric, or weight-loss surgery
- Cancer care
- Cardiac care
- Cellular Immunotherapy - CAR-T
- Fertility Care
- Gene Therapy - Ocular Disorders
- Knee and hip replacement
- Maternity care
- Spine surgery
- Substance use treatment and recovery
- Transplants
If so, see if your hospital is a Blue Distinction Center. It’s a national quality designation from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
While some sources give hospitals an overall rating, we look at quality a little differently. We measure hospitals by specialty care category. That means a hospital might be a Blue Distinction Center for bariatric surgery, but not for maternity care. Knowing if a hospital has a quality designation for the care you need can help you pinpoint where to go.
Why trust the Blue Distinction Center designation?
- Selection criteria are developed with the help of expert physicians and medical organizations.
- Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ have a proven history of delivering high quality care and better results than those without these recognitions.
- We work very closely with our providers to ensure our ratings are sound.
- We’re continually adding new specialty care categories to the list.
How to find a Blue Distinction Center
To see the highest-quality hospitals in your network, log in to your member account and select Find a Doctor or Hospital, Compare Cost and Quality. Then, search the hospital name you’re considering.
You might see a Blue Distinction Center+ designation, too. This means that the hospital also provides care at a lower cost than others with only a Blue Distinction badge. Both of these designations are part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
Explore other quality sources
You may want to consider these hospital quality sources, too — especially if the care you need doesn’t fit into our Blue Distinction categories. Each source has its own approach for measuring hospital quality. That’s why it’s important to learn how they come up with their ratings. Doing a little digging may help you decide which hospital is right for you.
Blue Distinction Centers meet standards for experience and performance established by medical professionals and organizations. To find out what specialty care your plan covers, call the Customer Service number on the back of your ID card. Before you make an appointment, ask the Center if they’re in your plan’s network. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its licensees—including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its subsidiaries—aren’t responsible for damages, losses and charges your plan doesn’t cover when you use the Association’s website or get care from a provider listed there.
