Patients now grade their local hospitals

The government has just announced its first-ever star ratings of the country’s hospitals based on patients’ assessments of the care they received. Other organizations have dabbled in this ratings business, many of them to make a buck by selling their rankings. And it’s not uncommon for some of these outfits to get licensing fees from hospitals that get glowing report cards they can then use to market themselves.

I’ve tended to view those ratings schemes with skepticism. The government’s ratings, however, don’t come with any of that baggage and don’t appear to be sugarcoated for commercial purp...