Can hospitals report their data in such a way that the numbers look better than they really are?
No. As hospitals submit the data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the data are audited for accuracy at several points in the data submission process before it is placed in the mySChospital Web site. CMS validates the data by reviewing charts from the hospital’s files. The medical and surgical services data are calculated by CMS. An individual hospital doesn’t know their rate on any one measure until they receive a report from CMS. Compare it to taking a test, and handing it to the teacher. You don’t know your grade until you get the test back. The data are then accessed by the South Carolina quality improvement organization, The Carolina’s Center for Medical Excellence (CCME), which sends the files to SCHA for publication to the mySChospital Web site. CCME is a trusted source of valid information on hospitals. CCME has gathered hospital data for more than a decade, while working with hospitals on projects designed to improve quality.
